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Free Agency

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Felt like time for a new post.

Beavs have been hot in free agency today, with the additions of:

4* QB Maalik Murphy(Duke)

4* TE Jackson Bowers(BYU)

LB Walker Harris(S. Utah)

 

Signs also point to continued activity as we have several transfers the Beavs have either had on visit or soon to visit.

4*USC LB Raesjon Davis comes tomorrow.

The transfer portal has been kind to the Beavs as of late.

Is it good recruiting?

Or an influx of donations the fans are unaware of?

Should be a fun week for the Beavs.

Also on the agenda, the Beavs need to hire a new RB coach after Ford took the HC position at Idaho.

Speculate away….

823 COMMENTS

    • In 2021…..

      “One of the most versatile linebackers in the country. Covers like a safety but hits like a linebacker. Lacks ideal length for an outside ‘backer but does have long arms on his 6-1 frame and might not be done growing. Very good as an outside pass rusher showing the burst to get around the edge and the power to run through most high school tackles. Can break down in space and is an excellent open field tackler and shows the speed to run down plays from behind. Has a non-stop motor and plays with an aggressive edge to him. Projects as an impact, upper-tier Power 5 starter and future high-round NFL draft pick.”

  1. Murphy is a surprise, but pairing him with an upgrade at TE makes sense. Maybe CLemons staying helped with some of this in terms of what the offense could look like going forward. My guess is the goal will be a shift toward the typical pro style and backing away form the RPO/option approach with these guys signing. Next we need to see a few dlinemen and Oline signees.
    It does play with the emotions to think we have some guys on the staff whoare pretty good recruiters and still have some connecrtions with the guys that are buried elsewhere or just want to change their situation.

    I do like the sound of bringing in multiple 4 star guys each portal cycle. We know we aren’t losing the 4 star guys because we never sign them out of high school anyway.
    Anxiously awaiting the next 4 star announcement….

  2. Per PFF, Harris is 6’5 250 and transferred from U of Sioux Falls before SUU. Must be a grad transfer.

    Played his best game of the season against Utah with 6 hurries including 1 sack. 3 sacks total on the season. Had ups and downs this year, but that’s kind of expected when you’re inexperienced at the current level.

    • Probably a depth guy with some upside? We need Saez Hickle, and Omo to carry the load and Howard to contribute. We’re probably set at that position now.

      Need a DT or two, LB’s and a CB now…

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    Why did Maalik choose the Beavs? With the season he had, shouldn’t he have moved on to a bigger program? Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy, just trying to make sense of it.

  4. In a USAToday ranking of top QBs available, Murphy comes in at #7:

    “Maalik Murphy (Duke)

    Murphy is a definite Power Four starter after throwing for 2,933 yards and 26 touchdowns in his single season with the Blue Devils. The former Texas transfer threw for at least 235 yards eight times and had a flair for the dramatic, leading Duke to six wins decided by a single possession.”

    Maybe the offense will be built primarily on Murphy’s and Gutridge’s pocket passing, with some packages for GJ to mix things up, take advantage of his mobility, and keep him engaged and on the team?

    The RBs will be there for play action, TR Bowers adds a lot of potential, and Clemons and others will need to step up their games.

    The Murphy signing is unexpected (to me) and relatively exciting and it lends some positive public perception to the program as still viable…

    • He’s not perfect, he made plenty of first year starter mistakes last season, a couple of 3 pick games that hurt.

      Hope he’s coachable and doesn’t end up a ego-maniac after the big pay day.

      But he’s a DJU level (or better) in talent.

  5. On paper, QB Murphy, RB Allah, TE Bowers, WR Clemons look great for a solid potential foundation of playmakers and production. Legitimate size and physical traits….

    Need to turn potential into reality though. I suspect Clemons and the WR room have to be fired up and will hopefully be very motivated this off season.

    • He sounds like a much better version of DJU keeping in mind the analysis was only 3 games into the season. That said, I think he will be a solid upgrade to our QB situation from last season. The fact he can throw the ball deep with some degree of accuracy is a plus.

        • Don’t we need a speedster too? I don’t remember anyone really taking the top off the D. Or am I just totally blanking cause we didn’t have a QB to take advantage?

          • Zach Card claims speed equal to or better than Gould and Bolden, and said “they know,” implying it was demonstrated in practice, but…..why can’t he get open and make big plays?

            One would think with Clemons, Anderson(?), Card, and with TE Jermaine Terry drawing coverage, someone could get open deep…

            Next year add Michali Durant, who redshirted. His High School note: “Grabbed 75 receptions his senior season, totaling 1,301 yards and 20 touchdowns.”

            So I think next year some combo of: Clemons, Anderson, Durant, Walker (hopefully becomes 3rd option instead of #1) with Card thrown in for speed? Card would be the only little guy.

      • In the highlights, with a clean pocket, he does very well (as a QB should). But he also seems to process faster than DJ did (a turtle on coffee would too though).

        He threw 26 TDs last year, and if he can be taught to throw it away to reduce TOs and negative plays, he could have really big upside.

        Next season starts as follows (I think):

        CAL (Home)
        Fresno (H)
        Texas Tech (Away)
        UO (Away)

        He could be a difference maker in the first three, the rest of the schedule after UO is manageable. WSU twice in one season may be good timing…make it 3 in a row!

  6. The Murphy news is certainly intriguing, but as a Beaver fan in the current environment, I will be tempering my excitement until I hear some practice reports of him lighting it up with the 1s.

  7. Haha!!! I laughed at the title of the post – so true! Hopefully this Murphy kid is as good as advertised. Great QB play can really elevate a team. #1 position on the team by far, I think.

    • Apparently Juco time doesn’t count against eligibility anymore. Seems like you’ll see more HS guys go the JC route. Could be a boon for JC rosters.

      • Could also hurt G5 schools, unless they’re willing to pay every player on their roster enough to keep them out of developmental leagues like the Juco ranks

  8. Apparently no sign yet from DL Collins on if he is staying or going. Hopefully recent recruiting progress convinces him to stay m. He and Johnson (if also staying) should be more impactful with experience.

  9. WBB boat races W.Kenticky 80-58 and WK was 8-1. WK hit ten 3s tonight and I think the Beavs hit 9. A good Miami team on tap for tomorrow night.

        • They had only 11 turnovers and given they turn it over around 20x per game, that’s a lot of improvement. I watched most of the game and thought their spacing a ball movement was very good and their perimeter shooting was much better 44% and 38% so all in all a much better effort. However, WKU is no miami so we will see tonight. Miami 10-1 so far with an 18 point loss to vandy and a bunch of wins over no names in WBB. Maybe the Beavs have a shot.

  10. Duke people on twitter are saying Murphy was basically forced out of Duke because the coaches told him he didn’t fit their scheme and were bringing in the guy from Tulane. Reading between the lines it sounds like a “your NIL deal isn’t being extended” situation. Several comments saying he’s a very good person and wishing him well.

    So it’s a bit like the DJU exit from Clemson.

    • 10

      I did some digging on this, a deep dive on the Duke boards and sent out some DM’s hoping to get a little bit of the back story.

      It sounds like Diaz and OC Jonathan Brewer identified Tulane QB Darian Mensah as a better fit for the offense they wanted to run at Duke and began ‘tampering’ for him mid-season. Mensah was known by Brewer when he was QB/co-OC at SMU.

      Murphy had a good season, but suffered some bumps (running, pocket presence under pressure, accuracy/timing on short/intermediate routes, etc). Overall he was viewed positively by the Duke fanbase so long as he continued to improve in those areas. Duke coaches just saw Mensah’s game as much better fit for the RPO style of offense they want to run while having to pay him much less.

      Murphy wanted to stay at Duke (they elected him Captain) and he had apparently already leased an apartment for 2025 unaware that the coaches were looking elsewhere until the end of the season. With them targeting Mensah in the portal they weren’t going to pay Murphy the high six-figure NIL $ again in 2025 and he would have to take a massive pay cut and compete for the starting job with Mensah. He instead elected to hit the Portal.

      He had good visits to Auburn and Kentucky, but wasn’t offered as much NIL $ as he made in 2024 (close to $1 million) and would have to compete with others for the starting job. Again, he wanted to be ‘the guy’ so he kept looking while those schools found others at the price they wanted.

      OSU was ready to sign Brendon Lewis, but when he called Memphis to tell them he was signing with the Beavs, they convinced him to delay and come for a visit, and then Michigan entered the conversation. The timing of that created a window for Murphy to take another look at OSU, when he had previously declined to visit again as he wanted to stay in the Power 4.

      It was just the timing of how everything played out that ended up landing in the Beavs favor (for once) and Gundy doing the work based on his established relationship with Murphy dating back to recruiting him at UCLA and in the portal last season. Lewis might be the more complete player as a 6th year senior, but there is no denying Murphy’s talent, a win is a win.

      • It’ll be interesting to hear how much NIL the Beavs are giving Murphy. Always seems like we don’t have much money to offer players, so did he get $1mil from us somehow, or is he taking a pay cut to come here?

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        So we committed to him being the guy? That’s a slippery slope and seems like it’s a disservice to the younger up and coming guys like KG and GJ.

        • Bringing in a (relatively) expensive free agent implies he’s going to be the starter, but Johnson and Gutridge have to be willing to compete and out compete. If they aren’t, they’re going to be career backups.

          I hope they both work hard and try to prove they’re the guy. I think Gutridge can be a winner, and GJ a change up QB, or , figure out what the offense is with him in and just run it consistently.

          I won’t be surprised if GJ looks elsewhere. I think Gutridge stays.

    • Clemson boards were burning DJ down big time. Dabo fired a very well like OC because DJ was so bad, that OC was the one who got them into the NC with Trevor Lawrence. Clemson hasn’t been the same since.

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        They’re in the CFP so I think they’re still doing okay. They just signed their first portal transfer ever (FCS transfer) so there are other things holding them back.

        I root for Dabo because he’s clinging hard to the old ways and still doing pretty well.

    • Thanks for the background, it makes more sense. Otherwise, I’m thinking why would a successful starting Power 4 QB transfer to OSU right now. Maybe LOTB in a positive direction!

  11. I have to admit, the Murphy signing has me intrigued enough to watch some beavers football next year.

    It reminds me a bit of the DJU signing, where it seemed like OSU got a QB that could throw people open and balance out the offense.

    That didn’t happen consistently, and DJ was a slow processor. He did make the difference it seemed in games like CAL and UCLA (UCLA also has suffered from a turnover prone, inexperienced QB).

    But WRs, despite their speed, didn’t seem to get as open as expected for DJ.

    So now, similar looking challenges. Can the WRs get open? And catch? Can Murphy read-and-decide quickly and well? Can he make the routine, short throws?

    I have to think the WR room is excited and will be extra motivated this off season. Hopefully GJ and Gutridge are feeling extra competitive.

    But a season that was looking unwatchable is now looking intriguing enough to watch. There will be mistakes obviously, and big plays good and bad. But if receivers can get open and catch, the pass game will be respected and Hakerson and Allah and Hatcher should find more running room. I think Allah will get bigger and faster this off season, obviously a season wiser, and will be producing some big chunk plays.

  12. I watched film of the Duke vs Miami 2024 game to get an idea of what to expect. To me, he’s very similar to DJU, with perhaps a quicker read/release.
    But a fee of those balls he launches down field were just sitting ducks waiting to get picked off. One of the commentators said “that’s basically a punt when float it out there like that”
    On the plus side, he’s tall and shouldnt get his throws batted down. And a very strong arm. But accuracy is a concern

    • Was his 1st year starting. If he’s coachable those decisions are correctable. He clearly trusts his arm talent, a little too much sometimes.

      • Watched those games. Simple correctable mistakes. I’d say at least half of his ints this season were from deep balls where he either missed the double coverage or trusted his arm to throw the guy open too much, or shorter routes that didn’t have enough touch and the ball rifled of the hands/shoulder of his receivers and became up for grabs. All coachable things (if he’s coachable).

      • He threw 26 TDs against 12 INTs last year. Not great. If he had a 3:1 TD:INT ratio as a Beaver, that would be good to me.

        7(?) Beaver passing TDs last season was awful.

    • One thing that stood out to me is he doesn’t seem to panic when facing a blitz. DJU was ready to curl up in a ball or back peddling and throwing inaccurate passes when blitzed. I miss the Canfield type that could drop a deep pass in. From the highlights Murphy looks like he has nice projection on deep passes. Of course I only saw the ones where he connected with his targets.

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        Yeah, similar stats, very different eras and offenses. Anderson would have looked worse without Hass. I bet a third of Anderson’s INTS were from WRs that couldn’t handle the velocity every time, and had passes go off their hands or bodies. It never phased Hass.

        Murphy is intriguing.

        I’ll be curious to see Angry’s take (he’ll probably not like him much, he looks high risk:reward, with risks more frequent than rewards) and Jack’s take.

  13. Murphy may also have value in attracting other free agents. I doubt Beavers Collective has much $ to work with. We shall see. A Hodgins-like receiver would be welcome…and a burner with hands obviously…

    • Bowers said Murphy was part of his decision to commit. I think we’re probably set with our receiver group. All starters return, we get Valsin back and Freauff and some of the other guys have potential. TE seems to be a focus still; we’re hosting a JC TE today.

      Defense needs some love now.

      • Are there any decent o-line recruits being recruited at this time? All this supposed fire power won’t mean squat unless the o-line is solid.

        • I’m pretty sure I met/saw this guy working at the Golf Course in Prineville at an event I attended earlier this summer. He certainly did stand out; he’s pretty tall.

        • It’s so funny to hear Crook County associated with football. I grew up there and the only year we were good was my freshman year when Jamal Adams was there. Now Marcus Greaves and Pfleaf(?) are going D1.

  14. What does the oline look like beyond Wells returning?
    We have 1 from the portal already but what about last years class or this years signees? Are any ready to contribute now and be good?

    • Strand, Voltin, Wells, Hand/Elu, Anderson/Cox

      Limited career snaps by all these guys except Wells. Strand and Voltin have been good in limited action. Hand is “experienced” but hasn’t actually played much. Cox has also been good in limited field time. It’s going to take a bit for this group to gel.

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    Any Beavs doing a u-turn on the Portal? Even if Oregon State just becomes like a JUCO where players wanting to see the field go to make a name for themselves – I can live with that. The days of having a player sign on in high school and play four or five years (for anyone) are over.

  16. From an article on MM signing with Oregon State:

    “Landing Murphy was a transfer portal recruiting win for Duke coach Manny Diaz. Murphy picked the Blue Devils over Oregon State, South Carolina and Baylor. This year, the Southern California native passed for 2,933 yards.

    Diaz has nothing but love for Murphy, “I’ve got a ton of respect for Maalik Murphy. Our story as a program, it doesn’t happen this way without Maalik. He’s been everything we could have hoped for and more in his time with us. I’m excited for him and his future and I’m glad we were part of each other’s story.”

    Murphy was the backup at Texas last year and started two games in relief of an injured Quinn Ewers, throwing for 477 yards and three TDs. His most memorable game was a 33-30 OT win over Kansas State in Austin. The Wildcats were led by current Ohio State QB Will Howard.”

  17. Apparently more beaver locks coming very soon according to another site. Hopefully, a big time receiver, defensive linemen and linebackers too.

  18. “Oregon State men’s soccer achieved a program first when Enzo Newman and Sergi Solans were selected during first round of Friday’s MLS SuperDraft.

    Newman, a sophomore defender, was taken by FC Dallas with the 11th pick, while Solans, a redshirt freshman forward, went to Real Salt Lake with the 30th pick, the final selection of the first round.

  19. Indiana with a full roster, full coaching staff and 2 weeks to prepare look exactly like the Beavs last year against the Golden Domers.
    Notre Dame is the quiet favorite to win it all in my view.
    A weak Georgia offense won’t move the ball on the Irish.

      • Not what I said, Indians earned their bid, they were just always going to get blown out.

        *And if I were to argue for a team over Indiana it would be Miami. Or even Army (also destined to be blown out but 11-1 at selection time plus conference championship makes them more deserving then any available SEC team).

          • Here we go, an abundance of hyperbole…

            Indiana rout by Notre Dame proves College Football Playoff made mistake that can’t happen again
            Matt Hayes
            USA TODAY NETWORK

            “So we begin with the obvious: there has never been a bigger miss than by the selection committee in the 11 years of the playoff”

            “It doesn’t change the reality that Indiana’s inclusion in college football’s was a monumental mistake.”

            The keepers of this magnificent sport will work all offseason to find the answers for 2026.

            Because another Indiana can’t happen again.”

    • Glad it’s 12 teams. There’s about 3 of them that aren’t that good. Could put ole miss in there, Miami, a few others and it would be the same. Army didn’t look good last weekend but maybe they’d match up better against a different offense.

      • Army literally looked worse than Indiana did against ND… on a neutral field.

        And Army is a good team that would have given anyone a decent run this year, as is Navy, who was also dismantled by ND.

        I really think ND is just that good this year, and nobody is talking about them due to the NIU loss, which apparently awakened the monster.

  20. I called it. I said that the Notre Dame – Indiana game was going to cue a bunch of media overreactions. About Notre Dame being really good and Indiana not belonging. It’s stupid really. Of course Indiana belonged. They proved it during the season. Just because they got manhandled in one away game doesn’t mean they didn’t earn their spot. Same thing will happen if there are more dominant performances. But are you really going to put a 9-3 Alabama team that got waxed by a mediocre Oklahoma team in the playoffs over 11-1 Indiana? No. You should not. People should not conflate bad playoff performances with belonging or not. The season already determined belonging. The playoffs are supposed to reveal who’s really a contender. Not determine worthiness.

  21. Indiana’s coach is very good! The difference was 4 and 5 star and some future NFL athletes against 2 and 3 star players. ND dominated the line of scrimmage. Great coaching and schemes by Indiana kept the game reasonably close.

    • OSU nearly pulled off its biggest win of the season, but Miami had enough during the final seven minutes to edge the Beavers 61-56 Friday night in Makawao, Maui.

      The Beavers led by as many as nine points and were within one point with seven minutes remaining. But Miami (11-1) turned back OSU as Cameron Williams and Haley Cavinder combined to score 41 points.

      Oregon State got as close as three points with 10 seconds remaining. The third quarter proved to be the Beavers’ undoing, with Miami outscoring OSU 16-6 to take command.

  22. Don’t know what it says about the CFP, but the FCS semi-final between SDSU and NDSU has been much more entertaining than either playoff game! My fear is that the Quacks have the potential to run the table and we will never hear the last of it in the state for decades and decades.

    • If they win, it will always be tainted in this no rules open free agency system. So what if they could finally pay their team legally, even a $20 million roster. We know they have been cheating for at least 20 years trying to accomplish it. They are just lucky that NIL came along before Phil Knight died. Now he can be even more obscene in burning his money on college athletes chasing a trophy.
      Until the Ducks actually admit they would be in the same or worse situation as OSU without Nike money, everything they win is a hollow victory. Built not bought means something to a lot of fans. NIL is poison for many of us who liked the concept of program building, legacy, loyalty and meaningful accomplishments.

      • You and I understand that but the average bandwagon Quack fan doesn’t and that will be the reality for us long-suffering Beav fans who live in the state!

      • Even Pat Kilkenny admitted they’d be in the same situation if not for Uncle Phillip’s $$$$$. However, ducks rarely like to hear the truth bc they are so emotionally attached to the program as that’s one of the few things in their miserable existence they can actually feel good about

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        It won’t be tainted. They don’t even have the most NIL money and still are winning. We can’t say anything as OSU fans. Pre-NIL Mallik Murphy never comes here.

        • “Pre-NIL Mallik Murphy never comes here.”

          Disagree. Pre- Nil we had:
          Derek Anderson(5* QB)
          Matt Moore (4* QB transfer)
          Sean Mannion(4* QB)
          Tristan Gebbia(4* QB transfer)
          And wasn’t DJU technically pre-NIL?

    • I don’t really care about the cfp, but I do wonder how it affects the acquisition of players, when full teams are still playing well into next year.

      How do you recruit big names or even depth while you already have depth on your bench waiting to play?

      If you don’t win it all, it would be better to lose early, from a recruiting perspective.

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        Oregon’s getting players in the portal while prepping for the CFP. Perks to a first round buy. They have money and a large staff to steal players.

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    OT- my youngest just got accepted to OSU, he’s a good high school LB (first-team all-league 6A level), but probably not D-1 talent. Getting D-3 and D-2 offers. He is going to explore walking on, but he’s a talented rugby player and has talked with the Beav coaches. Beavs don’t play top-level college rugby, sort of like FCS. Only 40 colleges play at the highest level. His senior season doesn’t start until March.

    • It sounds like your kid has a good head on his shoulder. FCS would have been fun for the sporting aspect, but the education he’ll get there is far and above any of those small schools. Congrats. I bet you are ecstatic as a parent.

      • Yes, his grades are excellent, interestingly the largest academic scholarship has been to Arizona who also play D1 Rugby. His Rugby coach is setting up a meeting with the Arizona coach, but my son’s heart is with the Beavers! He sent film to some of the Beav football coaches, but it’s been crickets. He was injured 90% of his junior season so sort of a unknown.

      • That’s funny, I live in Arizona and I have a close family friend that has gotten a feeler as a corner from OSU. He’s 6’4 180. He has a 2.5 cumulative GPA (I’ve been telling him for years he has the ability, but needed to bring his grades up.) He’s my oldest son’s best friend. I’m not looking to just do this for OSU, he has had a very hard life. He’s gotten offers from BYU and Wake also. He’s looking to go JUCO, but if he does, I don’t think he will stick with the schooling. I’m really thinking the stability that a D1 program could give him would help. He’s a great kid and I’m just posting to see what he could do to get in a stable program which I think Coach Bray is trying to build.

    • Sat behind Ricky at an Oakland Raider game once, people wouldn’t stop bothering him for autographs…He never said a word to any of them, not even hello, but signed every last one.

    • The A’s have always been my favorite team. Ricky was so entertaining, it’s bizarre that he apparently died from pneumonia. He still looked fit when he threw out the first pitch at the A’s last home game in Oakland.

  24. So any chance we see an article about what a mistake it was to include Tenn in the College Football Playoff’s, ala the piece in USA Today about Indiana??

  25. Is Davis an upgrade over Jordan or Chisom?
    Looks like he’s only going to have 1 year remaining. What happened that caused him not to play in 2024 when he played the 3 prior years? Injured or ?

    • He played a lot early in his career but then hurt his wrist. USC brought in transfers on big NIL (we know one) and he lost his minutes to those guys after coming back from the injury.

      Super talented. Was a high 4-star and would have been a 5-star coming out of Mater Dei if he had a little more size.

      • Never lived up to the potential. PFF ratings have been mid his whole career and he was at the center of all those USC defenses that held the team back when their offense was so good.

        Coaching matters, though, and he’s experienced at a high level and a good athlete. Plus we beat out MSU for him, which is a major win.

  26. Transfer recruiting is on an absolute roll. Seems like we’ve done a good job identifying guys that actually want to be at OSU.

    Hoping for a few more on D like that guy from Montana.

    • Has to be good for morale of team and staff. I know from a fan standpoint I’m surprised and definitely interested in Beaver football in 2025.

      It’s looking to me like defensive improvement will mainly have to come from experience, growth and obtaining better player health and availability during the season. Doesn’t look like they’ve so far gotten any legitimate DI DL players.

      Some notes on this recruiting period:

      Coach Slime apparently has recent signees who are on campus involved in practices and prep for bowl game. They can’t dress for it or play, but are apparently going through it for developmental purposes (and to help entice future recruits?)

      Saw one suggestion to improve the sanity of college free agency was to narrow transfer period and eliminate spring practice. Would be odd not to have spring ball.

  27. Former Beaver RB Jermar Jefferson elevated to active roster and may get to play against Chicago Bears:

    “Jermar Jefferson has waited more than three years for another opportunity.

    The Detroit Lions running back, who last played in a regular season game during his rookie season in 2021, could see action on Sunday after the team promoted him from the practice squad to the active roster on Saturday.

    Running back David Montgomery suffered a MCL injury during the Lions’ 48-42 loss to Buffalo last weekend and he is expected to be out for at least the final three games of the regular season. Jefferson is looking forward to the rare opportunity to show what he’s capable of doing on the field when the Lions face the Chicago Bears.

    “What do they say in the NFL? One goes down next man up. I feel like I’ve got the next-man-up mentality and I’ve been ready for this opportunity for awhile,” Jefferson told reporters. “With David out, (I’m hoping) for a big role. We’ll see. I’m going seize the moment on any opportunity I get out there.”

    The Detroit Lions running back, who last played in a regular season game during his rookie season in 2021, could see action on Sunday after the team promoted him from the practice squad to the active roster on Saturday.

    Jefferson last played in a regular season game during the Lions’ 30-12 Week 15 win over the Arizona Cardinals in 2021, running five times for nine yards. He appeared in seven games that season, rushing 15 times for 74 yards with two touchdowns.

    Backups Craig Reynolds and Sione Vaki are also available, but Jefferson did impress the Lions with his athletic ability during training camp. “Jermar – tremendous short-area quickness, good vision in the run game,” Lions running backs coach Scottie Montgomery told reporters. “Did a tremendous job in camp of creating a lot of explosive (plays). He actually might have had the most explosives in camp in real running settings. He did a really good job for us.”

    https://www.oregonlive.com/nfl/2024/12/former-oregon-state-beavers-star-looking-forward-to-rare-opportunity-with-the-detroit-lions.html

  28. QB- Murphy (76)
    RB- Hankerson (76)
    WR- Walker, Clemons, Valsin (Anderson/Durant?) (71)
    TE- Caufield (51), Bowers?
    OL- Strand/Anderson, Voltin, Wells (76), Hand, Cox/Timoteo (58)?

    DL- Pome’e, Collins (63)
    Edge- Saez, Omotosho, Hickle, (63, not counting Hickle, we also have Harris, Howard, Meikele, Fisher so it feels like this group is set)
    LB- Davis, Foster, Tongue/Sullivan/Goodman (61) probably need another guy here given the uncertainty around the depth guys
    CB- Ayers, Singleton, Thomas, Crandall, Vadrawale, Tucker (62) feels like we’re probably set here
    S- Thomas, Ivy (68)

    Still need DL, maybe another LB and maybe another interior OL, but the roster is taking shape. Looks like we’re banking on improvement from the young defensive players.

    • Well those young players saw the field plenty, another year in the system, at the training table and weight room…can’t be as bad as last year

      • He saw the field before Durant this year (also highly touted). He’s only a frosh…time was you wouldn’t expect him to see the field as an 18 year-old.

      • Rumor spreading (from “high level donor sources”) is that it’s Jensen (and others) committed to helping with NIL and he would just rather it be “anonymous”.

        In the scheme of things, the scale of 10’s of millions is still nothing to that guy.

        Also rumbling about more public stuff between NVIDIA and OSU Athletics and Pac-12. Selling him on Sports + Tech = Marketing/Profit.

        Who knows, time will tell.

        I’m sure the Reser’s are all in too.

        • Where can one go to read about the rumors?
          Just curious who it is that’s spreading that message, since everything always seems be rumor in OSU land, given our lack of actual media coverage

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            It’s not that I dont want to believe the rumor mill in group chats, but I would think if Huang decided to dip his toes in the NIL pool, he’d make a bigger splash than grabbing Duke’s QB

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            Oh it’s not like that I don’t believe.

            I don’t think he’s motivated at all by “making a splash”, but sees that supporting the Admin/Collective with the necessary $ to stay relevant until college athletics figures itself out is a worthwhile endeavor. Credit to Murphy and Barnes for selling donors on that.

            They’re being very pragmatic and focusing on long-term stability, they’re not trying to make a vanity statement by buying a championship a la the yucks.

            I don’t believe that the collective has any kind of unlimited bankroll from any one donor, just that they have a pool of the resources they need to get the kinds of players that makes sense.

            In the case of Murphy, that was a windfall of timing and circumstances. They were ready to sign Lewis to an NIL deal about 1/3 of what they spent on Murphy, and he’s a good player who likely would have been successful. He decided to chase a bigger bag at Memphis (FedEx).

            Murphy had a hard time finding a home because Duke overpaid for him last season ($1m). They were able to get the guy from Tulane (who fits their offense better) for less. Of course Murphy doesn’t want to take a pay cut and wants to stay a Power 4 starter so he shops himself around.

            Auburn and Kentucky have a lot more options with so many good QB’s in the portal that aren’t going to cost $1m+. It isn’t that they didn’t want him, they just weren’t going to anoint him the starter and give him $1m+. The Beavs do need a QB that bad to stay relevant and have the people they need in place to cover the cost (Jensen and others), and their gonna do everything they can to keep him for 2 years.

            It’s “rumors” because the information trickles out from “people who know people” and then onto fan sites like this from people who have some kind of random access to conversations with people who know the “people who know people”.

            So it’s all third/fourth party at a minimum before it ends up blitz or in group chats. But so far, it checks out.

            Very curious to see how the Pac-12 media rights pans out in the context of the current “rumors”.

          • The “rumors” heading into Portal season was that the Beavs had secured the donor base to provide funds for NIL and that they would be focused on retaining as much of the roster as possible but willing and able to spend a lot for the right QB should the opportunity present itself.

            Chisom was long gone and Melvin didn’t like his NIL valuation after his exit interview and tried to get a lot more.

            They weren’t going spend their limited resources on guys like that who wanted to chase a big bag, but they would and could fork out enough to bring in an impact QB. I heard from multiple rumor mills heading into the Portal opening that QB was the area the Beavs were willing and able to spend $ to make it happen. That even made it onto mainstream Blitz.

            Murphy prioritized staying in the Power 4 and would have gone to Auburn/Kentucky or elsewhere for less if the Beavs hadn’t stepped up to pay him. Somehow, they managed to swing that. It sounds like some in his family/camp were high on OSU for personal reasons and that was helpful as well.

            I was very skeptical upon hearing any of that at the time a few weeks ago, but sure seems to check out now.

            Which leads me to believe some of the other “rumors” like Jensen being involved and the Pac-12 media rights situation potentially being better than expected/reported could be true as well.

            We’ll see.

          • Chisolm overvalued himself ending up at ucla. Any chance Jordan is welcomed back or wants to come back? I don’t think I’ve seen him commit elsewhere. Not a great year to be a defensive player on the Beavs and think you’re going to have a lot of interest.

          • 2
            4

            “They’re being very pragmatic and focusing on long-term stability, they’re not trying to make a vanity statement by buying a championship a la the yucks. ”

            That’s great they’re being pragmatic in a time of transition. But I still think they need to figure out what Beaver athletics are and are not, besides being always a few steps behind and medicore in the money sports of men’s basketball and football.

            If there is some sort of partnership with NVIDIA/Jensen where they leveraged their tech for games presentations, replays, super high social media products for OSU players, analytics and artificial intelligence on OSU team data and opponents, and as Jack said, ESports.

            Don’t just ditch Nike uniforms because they’re Nike (though that’s reason enough). Determine what you want and do a real competitive solicitation, get some quality and durability to an approach besides Nike’s half-assed approach.

            In (some) fairness to the Ducks, they’ve been pragmatic and long term. They took an “anti-tradition” approach years ago with their first terrible uniforms, and decided to go all in on Knight’s Nike-Vision (marketing, flash, appeal to youth, facilities, attention attention attention). What was it, 10 years ago when they last played for the national championship? Have they played for it twice? They’ve been to many significant bowl games, and had a few down years with the fortune cookie coach. They’re buying up NIL deals the last two years to get a championship before Knight dies, but they’ve also been pragmatic.

          • I agree with a lot of these points and I have no idea on any of the details. Just passing along the “rumors” I’ve heard and that so far they do seem to mostly check out.

            There is a lot to navigate. They have to figure out what to do with walk-ons, whether they’ll fork out the whole $20m in revenue sharing and where to prioritize funding up to the new scholarship limits if they can.

            They want to continue to operate like a “Power 5” program and feel like they have some pathway to do that.

            The rumors out there at the moment is that the Pac-12 media rights situation will take an innovate approach and be a lot better than initially speculated ($8-10m), and that they will be newly focused and willing to spend on building the Beavs athletic brand nationally.

            I don’t know specifically what any of that means and I wouldn’t say that I wholly believe, but with how the Portal has turned out so far I’m much more of a believer than I was before.

  29. Any legit rumors about RB coach candidates?

    I hope we dig back into Texas: 1) Barrick Nealy, Texas State U – Obvious TX recruiting ties and has experience as recruiting coordinator;
    2) Julian Griffin, UTSA – TX recruiting again plus NFL liaison experience.

    • Fairly close to home and a good school. Good for him. Interesting that we couldn’t match the NIL money when he was such a key defensive player for us. Must have always wanted to leave?

  30. Nikko Taylor is applying for another year of eligibility so we shall see. Beavs also hosting a TE transfer from University of Miami in January and he’s like 6’6′ 260lbs.

      • “The NCAA Division I Board of Directors granted a waiver to permit student-athletes who attended and competed at a non-NCAA school for one or more years to remain eligible and compete in 2025-26,” the NCAA memo reads, “if those student-athletes would have otherwise used their final season of competition during the 2024-25 academic year, and meet all other eligibility requirements (e.g., progress toward degree, five-year period of eligibility).”

  31. Riley Williams is the Miami TE who is visiting OSU.
    He’s actually from Portland but spent his senior year of HS at IMG academy. Was ranked the #2 – #4 overall TE in the 2023 class, depending on which recruiting site was doing the ranking.(247 was the higher rating)
    He was also a top 75 recruit according to 247.
    Would be one of the higher rated players OSU ever landwd if they were to get him.

    https://miamihurricanes.com/roster/riley-williams/

  32. 2
    5

    So earlier today to O posts an article about the mens hoops team off to their best start in 30 years.

    Begrudgingly I tune in and they look like ass vs 4-7 Oakland

    Here comes the thud

  33. This Oakland-Oregon State game exposing Oregon State’s issues at C. Glaring weakness on this roster. Fallah and Ndong are far too finesse and against bigs who are physical that really shows up. It’s the biggest thing that will hold this team back. Fortunately for the team, they won’t run into too many bigs like this in the WCC but sucks it happened in a game they can’t afford to lose

    • You obviously haven’t watched much OSU MBB this season bc Fallah has been very, very good. Plus, Fallah has been sick recently. Btw, I think the Beavs won too and Oakland did beat a 9-1 Loyola team.

      A not so picture perfect win is better than a pretty loss.

      • 3
        1

        I’ve watched a lot of Oregon State this season. Fallah is good depending on matchups. Against Oregon/North Texas and tonight he was a non-factor. Against athletic bigs with high motors, he tends to struggle because of limited lateral quickness and body position defensively isn’t a strength. Not a coincidence that Marsh who is less skilled offensively but has more foot speed and is more physical changed the game in the interior. Having a backup big like Marsh who can come in for matchups like this is hugely important. Props to Tinkle for being flexible and willing to bench 3 of their starters when Lake, Sy and Marsh were impacting the game.

  34. Oakland just beat 9-1 Loyola. They are clearly better than their record and have the hot hand. Just an unfortunate matchup for the Beavs. Oakland has the best player on the floor and that’s all it takes in college basketball sometimes.

  35. 10

    Oakland is 203rd in KenPom. This is going to be a disastrous loss. This was a tournament they had to reach the final of. Classic Wayne Tinkle to blow this game against a team that they should beat

  36. What a come back! Oakland is much better than their record. Their best player is a beast. Way to turn an almost certain loss into a 6 point win!

  37. 2
    1

    Unfortunately our NET will drop by virtue of just playing that game, but Oakland’s NET will go up by playing that game close. If we get Nebraska though that will help and if we beat them, that will look fantastic on our resume. Winning preseason tournaments are huge for resumes.

    • 2
      1

      Blind squirrel gets rewarded handsomely for finding a nut.
      Of course Barnes will extend his contract just before we could afford to cut him loose. This is the anomaly year in the WCC. Once the PAC begins, Tinkle will again settle into the bottom tier and coast.

      • Doesn’t matter who’s coaching if you don’t give them the resources needed. Maybe he’s found a recipe with international players and having a true pg on the roster.

        Looking forward to the UP home game.

    • I’m hoping he has a good season and rides off into the sunset. Logic suggests he’ll be emboldened about being the man to lead the team into the new PAC.

  38. 5
    24

    I’m surprised we actually landed some 4 stars. I can’t see the appeal in playing for Bray, but if someone does, more power to them. Happy holidays, Beavos!

      • 19
        1

        The biggest knock on Bray is letting KHJ go so passive in a few games. The rest of the season is pretty much a story of roster depth and injuries. If you want to blame injuries on Bray you sound foolish. If you blame him for the roster after what JS pulled you lose all credibility.
        Bray was on track to have a really solid season until the injuries caught up with them. He has potential as a head coach. Don’t trash the guy.

  39. Good call about the JC year, didn’t think about that. Hopefully he delays his European pro career one year to run the team as everyone save Marsh will be back.

  40. Apparently MM hasn’t signed yet and has more visitors lined up? It would totally be a LODB moment to lose out on both Murphy and Lewis.

    • He just found out we are not P4 anymore?

      Nothing more LODB than this…Lol Lucy strikes again.

      We need to catch a break sometime right?

      Next years schedule is likely the easiest we will ever get and no one wants to play qb…

    • Young kid with chip on his shoulder and some talent that just wants to play, instigated lots of trash and fights in camp. Was frustrated being buried on the depth chart behind so many vets. Some of the other young guys that have been focused on handling their business and refining their game were beating him out at climbing the depth chart.

      He’ll get to play a lot at Sac State and make a bunch of plays (and mistakes) and he’ll likely transfer back to a bigger school if he can keep his head on straight. His nicknames “joker” and “crafty bag chaser” (cbc) are pretty self-explanatory.

  41. Interesting matchup with Nebraska as they have a NET tanking of 52 with a nice win over then #14 Creighton, a loss to Santa Clara 74-77 and a big loss to Michigan State. If the schedule is any indication, this will be a tight game and if OSU can hold them to under 60, I think Beavs win…something along the line of 64-58 Beavs. Go Beavs!

  42. 32-26 huskers almost halftime. Rataj struggling and it’s definitely a tough defensive game. Minor having a solid first half but Nebraska is a very good team. If Beavs pull this game out, Rataj needs to step up.

    • NB shooting 50% from FG and 54% from 3s and only up by a deuce so if OSU can get some shots to fall, they should be in good shape at the end. A little less one on one and better ball movement on the perimeter to get better looks

  43. 1
    1

    34-32 huskers at half. As expected, low scoring and tough defense. OSU needs contributions from Rataj and Fallah. Certainly not a first half of artistry but that’s bc both teams play solid defense. I’ll still stick to my 64-58 prediction for the beavs bc their shooting will pick up. Go Beavs!

  44. 3
    1

    Definitely not liking the fact the Huskers seem to be getting a lot of breaks from the refs. That ball was out on them and they have gotten away with some fouls. Not good in a game this close. You can also tell Tinkle is not happy with the turnovers. Also killer in a game like this.

  45. It would be nice if Rataj could get out of his shooting slump in the second half. He’s been short-arming his 10-12 foot shots, which he can get almost anytime he wants.

  46. NB is going to win but the refs were not great. NB is a very good team and just a little too much firepower. As I stated earlier, the Beavs needed to hold them to under 60 to win it. They just took control on the paint and got much better looks than OSU from higher % looks.

  47. Reffing was not great. But Brice Williams was the best player in the tourney. Lunardi has them on the bubble and I disagree. I would be shocked if they don’t make the tourney.

  48. 1
    2

    Good to know that ESPNsucks and Tinkleisagreatcoach are literally the same poster.

    Much like the mushroom, you had a shit take.

    OSU lost because Nebby was the better team in the paint.

    Points off turnovers was the only thing that kept OSU in tbe game until the last 5 minutes or.so.

    Everything else was fairly even.

    • Explain what was a shit take? I agree with you. Nebraska harassed us down low and clogged the lane. And got into the paint much easier. All I said was the reffing was not great. I am not blaming the loss on it. Nebraska was the better team on both sides of the ball. Also I have no idea who ESPNsucks is. You just read and assumed.

  49. Good effort from the Beavs overall but the fact that they just don’t have that interior presence defensively to deter drivers and bigs. Fallah had 1 rebound in 25 minutes. Back to back games where he had no impact on the game. Can’t remember a single play the last 2 games where he outmuscled or out positioned his opponent. He got mostly manhandled. You need that defensive anchor to win games like this. This team will do very well in WCC but beating Gonzaga/St. Mary’s and San Francisco are gonna be tough with some of the weaknesses. They need to win at least 3 of those matchups, I’d guess.
    Kingz was tremendous tonight. Not another player offensively has his shot making ability. He needs more touches. This team is much improved but ncaa tournament hopes are a little optimistic unless Michael Rataj develops some consistently and becomes more confident and physical in the interior.

    • Yeah, Fallah got manhandled by their interior defense. We couldn’t do anything inside. Marsh also struggled. We need to get more physical in the paint to beat teams like that. Also didn’t help that our most consistent player was practically non-existent for most of the game.

  50. At 64-60, Nebraska guy clearly pushes off using an elbow and the refs call a foul on #13 on Beavs. It’s 67-60. Ball game. The one call is the difference between a nail biter and a 10 point loss.

    Still, this is clearly Tinkle’s best team since the elite 8.

    • Yeah at this point the question is how much can they improve. Because right now they very much have the pedigree of a bubble team on the outside. They have to play well and rack up a few wins before their appointment with Gonzaga in mid January.

      • I thought Rataj is supposed to be their best player. We need him to be like Ethan Thompson but he’s sucked the last two games. Nice to see others step up though.

  51. Your yake is ridiculous regarding that I am the same poster as TAGC. As I commented above, MB took control of the paint and got much better higher % shots than the beavers did. I’d like to see the shot charts bc it would clearly show a bulk of NB shits came well inside the paint . I also stated they had more firepower than the beavers did but the refs were not very good on some very critical calls. Again, your take that I’m the same person as aforementioned is just puzzling not to mention laughable. I’m not sure why you’re trying to cause an issue….

  52. Beaver Nation, please get excited about our men’s basketball team. I am optimistic. I went to all 3 games in Hawaii. Here are my takeaways.

    1. Beavs need Rataj to play like Ethan Thompson. He played horribly in Hawaii yet others stepped up. If he was on, the Nebraska game would’ve come down to the wire.

    2. The biggest concern against Nebraska was the
    rebounding and missed switches on defense. However, give Nebraska credit. They could be a top 5 team in Big 10. Hopefully that’s the case.

    3. In conclusion, if Rataj shoots better and we can get more production from our bigs, we could be a tournament team. I am optimistic and look forward to our matchups against Gonzaga, St.Mary, WSU, and SF.

    • 1
      4

      Is that you “Wayne T”?

      As has been said already, he has a pattern of decent to encouragingly good stretches in the first couple of months- 12-15 game sample size. But like clockwork, his teams will begin to dissolve into individuals and not teams.
      Be prepared, the losses will trickle and then become baffling and then he over coaches which leads to losing the locker room. It is an easy pattern to spot and I don’t expect this group, as diverse and talented as they may be, to be any different. Tinkle is the common denominator.

      • We usually lose to a couple of mid major teams and get blown out by the power conference teams. This year, we’ve blown out the mid majors and lost close games to the power.

        This Nebraska game was a lot closer than the score. I believe we got blown out by them last season. I am optimistic but need Rataj to be a leader.

        • 1
          1

          Trust me. Tinkle will begin over-coaching these guys within a few games. He can’t help himself at this point in his career.
          Watch the substitution patterns begin changing and the more talented guys like Rataj getting less time on the floor. Shortly after that he tends to lose the locker room if the team doesn’t have a strong Alpha to lead them apart from Tinkle. If there isn’t a guy or two who can rise above Tinkle’s bad decisions, then he will have guys looking to transfer by February, which leads to the yearly roster rebuild.
          Just give it time, and watch for the pattern.

          If Tinkle does have a nice year,(+24 wins or so), I don’t trust Barnes to wait with an extension. Worst case scenario is a Tinkle extension and pay raises based on this season. The Beavs need to be prepared to cut him loose and bring in a new coach for the new era.

          • If Rataj keeps missing wide open looks, he deserves to sit on the bench. Can’t blame Tinkle for the missed shots.

            What I like about this team is that Sy, Lelevicius, Kingz, and Lake have sort of filled in the gap for Rataj. But the team is too reliant on the 3 in these last two games. So if my biggest concern now is Rataj and he turns things around, this team could be dangerous.

        • I agree as it was what a 4 point game with 3 minutes to go.. Rataj played very poorly in the tourney and he’s really the team leader…bigs didn’t play big either. NB was a tourney team last year and returned key players from that team. A call or two that went against the beavers had a significant swing to the game but the Beavs showed they can play with a tough team like NB.

  53. I’d love to read an opponent’s scouting report on the Beavers. I’ve heard too many Tinkle post-gamers where he kind of puts it all on the players for not executing. I’d also enjoy reading about how Tinkle put this team together after the exodus last year.

    • I was surprised Lake didn’t play earlier in the second half when they were struggling. He brings energy and can shoot from outside. They were really stagnant on offense.

    • 1
      2

      Opposing teams will only need to wait for Tinkles obvious tendencies to implode his own team with bad timeouts, bad substitutions and the obligatory 1-3-1 trap after everything has fallen apart.
      Beyond that, just emphasize an interior offense against any OSU big men. OSU will either be undersized, underskilled or simply softer than most teams, and will certainly not get any calls from refs in key moments.

    • Tinkle’s pg pressers follow a pattern – if the team wins, its because he orchestrated during-game adjustments.
      If they lose it’s because they didn’t follow his directions. He has no self-awareness.

  54. ESPNsucks
    December 25, 2024 at 8:48 pm

    NB is going to win but the refs were not great.

    Tinkleisagreatcoach
    December 25, 2024 at 8:51 pm

    Reffing was not great.

    Coincidence? I ain’t buying it

    3 minutes apart. I’d be willing to bet both posts came from the same IP address

    • 14

      For more than a week this site was a complete dumpster fire with people spoofing other people’s user names and you didn’t have a word to say… but two posters noticing bad refs in a similar time frame has given you the vapours, why so agitated about this?

      • Thx. Like I commented, I don’t know why he’s trying to create issues bc everything has been pretty calm for weeks. I guess some guys just like to restart the chaos.

          • 2
            8

            WSN is a charter member and you are the johnny come lately. Don’t put the OG’s on blast.
            Make a new years resolution to simply enjoy the blog without needing to call out fellow posters, even if they do it to you first.

            Know your place, earn your respect, and don’t troll like a duck honk.

          • You need to get your et your facts straight as he is the one who called me out for absolutely no apparent reason alleging me of having more than one different user handle. So it would appear he’s attempting to start the chaos and I’m just stating a fact as confirmed by NB.

          • And I could really give a crap if he’s a charter member or not bc when someone calls me out for no reason and they start talking crap, then I’ll defense myself especially when they are WRONG.

          • Do you need a kleenex? Send me your address and I’ll mail you some.

            If you and tinkleisagreatcoach aren’t the same? Fine. My apologies.

            However, you two seem to be the biggest crybabies about the officiating and literally started your posts with the same opening line 3 minutes apart.

            Idk what you watched. Take off the orange colored glasses and try watching a game objectively for once. There were bad and missed calls both ways.

            It wasn’t even remotely close to a reason why the beavs lost, so why start your post with that? If it was one call or a series of calls at the end in a close game? Then it’d have some merit.

            But it doesn’t. They lost. I’m so sick of this inferiority complex beaver fans seem to have that the refs are always out to screw the beavs over.

            Come down off your cross, use the wood to build a bridge and get over it.

            Beav in Ohio, don’t remind me about that epic failure of a trip. Thankfully it’s in the past and she’s just someone I used to know.

            Never again. Disneyland or marriage

  55. 3
    1

    I like them team, and the mix of size/skill with the players. There is depth, length, athletic wings, decent 3 pt shooting, guys who can get to the rim easily, 2 bogs that can catch and make layups, and a fairly flexible group that can play a range of defensive looks effectively.
    All good things, early in the season.

    What I don’t trust is Tinkle to not over coach and mess with their minds and skills.
    I don’t trust refs in this type of season for OSU basketball no longer allowed to be a PAC team.
    I don’t trust Barnes to pause on an extension if there is a modicum of success by Tinkle.
    I don’t trust the system and some of these guys will probably be looking to transfer by February.

    • Seems like they’re coming along pretty well considering the team is cobbled together with disparate parts….

      One could say if they had more time together they could be better and close out Oregon and Nebraska…

      Or one could say they’d degrade under Tinkle over a year.

      I hope to hell the AD doesn’t overreact and extend Tinkle.

      The PAC could emerge as a pretty decent basketball conference again with SDSU and Gonzaga…need a new coach who wants that challenge.

  56. Fallah has been good when the other team is lacking a true inside presence. He’s more talented than much of the lower level schools we’ve faced so far, but you start seeing him struggle a bit vs teams with actual Bigs. He was a non-factor for like 3 or 4 games in Nov/early Dec as well. Nebraska definitely has a great defense which hurt the Beavs’ execution so that didn’t help things but we need another big to provide quality minutes. This team is much improved over last year but I think it’s also true a lot of people got out ahead of their skis with the 10-2 record. We played nearly all of those games at home and we know WT is historically bad when it comes to playing away from Gill. Think this squad should be good enough for the NIT tournament but with the squads’ youth, having to play on the road and conf games starting soon, anything beyond that be a huge stretch.

    • He’s more of a finesse player than a power type player. If he would put on about 25 lbs to his frame, and added lower body muscle, he would be a very difficult player to defend. However, that’s some of the tradeoff power and muscle for quickness and really good foot work. If he could develop a perimeter game, he could use that to offset what he lacks in physical play.

  57. 1
    1

    Interesting as OSU NET ranking went from 42 to 51 after the loss to NB…NB ranking went from 52 to 44. I wouldn’t have expected tha much of a drop for OSU given NB was 9-2 with a solid win over previously ranked #14 Creighton..

    It will be interesting to see how OSU responds to the loss. I think they’re one interior power player short of being a top 15: team.

    • I think they’ll respond good. Their first 4 of their first 5 WCC games are vs teams in Quadrant 3 or Quadrant 4 of the NET. So should be a chance to get off toa nice start in league play.

      • His Texas highlights weren’t flattering.

        His full prep and play as a starter at Duke is much better. It’s really interesting that he has some connection to come back… or even consider Corvallis in the first place.

        Gundy must have really liked him in HS.

    • He’s got a strong arm and reminds me of DJU a little bit, size and limited mobility. I’m hoping that he’s much smarter between the ears with his reads and decision-making and if his time at Duke is any indication, he could be a good QB. My biggest concern is his lack of mobility and if the Beavs On-line doesn’t give him adequate protection, he’ll be an easy target in the pocket although having a strong running attack from Hank and Allah could be a major assist. The beavers receivers group could be solid if Clemons really steps it up along with Walker and the others. I guess we will see but anything will be better than Ben G IMHO.

  58. 9
    3

    Gotta wonder if the Schmucks don’t win the title this year, if they’ll ever win it. They’ve had a Heisman QB in MM and couldn’t win it and now back to back QBs with the most games ever played in CFB and spent millions of dollars buying their team…..if they don’t win it this year, especially in a down year, I doubt they’ll ever get it done.

    Go tOSU!

  59. 22
    1

    I’m hoping for 2 things in the CFP 1)Oregon loses first game to Ohio State, I want Uck fans to suffer. lol. 2) Boise State to win it all. That would end any narrative the G5 teams don’t belong in CFP and helps with giving attention to the PAC 12 as Boise will be joining in 2026

    • 5
      1

      Boise will not advance. The CFP is driven by money. They do not want a Boise St vs anybody matchup in the finals. They want eyeballs.

      • It’ll really depend on Boise’s run D. Considering who they’ve had to practice against all year and what I’ve seen of them, they’re a good bend but don’t break D.

        And Jeanty can flip the field, even if they don’t score.

        I think it will come down to which QB makes the least mistakes.

        • I know it was early in the season but they nearly beat the ducks at autzen and given there’s no real dominant team this year, anything is possible and Jeanty and is a threat to break one every time he touches the ball.

    • It is interesting how the debate was so contrived for who got the first round bye and who got to host. The CFP didn’t mind letting ASU and Boise St get byes, expecting them to both be easy pickens for their chosen teams (Texas & Penn St) to later advance. It came out that CFP takes all gate receipts from the host schools rather than that being a bonus for the host schools. So who benefits most from having 4 host sites with 100k possible attendance? Now we know why a team like Boise St, Oregon St, ASU, Indiana, Missouri, Minnesota, etc will never get to actually host a home playoff game. The gate receipts alone are a huge money making opportunity for these crooks. Math: 4 sites @ 100,000 ticket sales each at an average of $250 is probably quite low= $25 million per site or upwards of $100 million for the first round site gate alone. None of the participating schools see that money. Tennessee was the only possibility to take ND’s home site matchup but they weren’t brave enough to chase the extra cash to make ND mad. The other 3 hosts are in the top 7 for capacity of all college venues. So the committee sets it up with rankings, venue for tv appeal and max gate receipts, pushes BSU and ASU into the byes and gets to create a lot of buzz about how to change the seeding as well. The fix is already in for the next version and if anyone is ever going to win it outside of the chosen 15, this needs to be the year. I do hope that ASU and Boise St can meet in the championship as mega-spoilers for tv revenue and explode the minds of ESPN/SEC and Fox/Big10 brass.

      Host sites:
      Texas- 101k stadium
      Ohio St- 103k stadium
      Penn St- 107k stadium
      ND- 80k stadium

      Byes:
      ASU- 53k stadium
      BSU-36k stadium
      Oregon- 54k stadium
      Georgia- 92k stadium

      Road teams:
      Clemson- 83k
      SMU- 32k
      Indian- 53k
      Tenn- 104k

      • 1
        1

        Interesting but not surprising CFP gets gate receipts…

        Cue a major Autzen stadium expansion courtesy of Phil Knight…”I’m dying…..expand Autzen…..put me in my Nike suspended animation pod…awaken me my minions when we host a CFP game…”

  60. OSU WBB plays Gonzaga tomorrow on ESPeeIN2 and then play Portland Pilots on Monday on ESPeeIN2… Portland is 13-0 anday very well be the best WBB in Oregon. They are long, athletic, play solid defense and shoot the 3 pointer.

    I doubt the Beavs win either game as both games are on the road but Portland is worth the watch and some of their players aren’t hard on the eyes either. Lol

  61. Watching several minutes of Malik Murphy Duke HIGHLIGHTS, he seems to regularly get rid of the ball within about 3 seconds of it hitting his hands. On deeper routes he’ll get rid of it early and put air under it to give the receiver time instead of holding it then delivering. Sometimes this is an INT risk, as evidenced by his 26:12 TD:INT ratio.

    Looks like an upgrade over DJU in terms of processing time.

    Note the Duke stadium is often half empty. Even with Reser’s limited capacity, he ought to enjoy it if Beavers can reestablish home field advantage they had under smith the last 2-3 years of Smith’s tenure.

    His “mic-ed up” video isn’t over the top, sounds vocal but not over bearing. Beavers need leadership on offense, maybe he can provide it.

    https://youtu.be/fMKUG8kDLuA?si=4OC6JVsjdJs7jOiR

    https://youtu.be/fMKUG8kDLuA?si=4OC6JVsjdJs7jOiR

  62. WBB in the WCC……..Beavs up at the half after trailng close most of the game. Turnovers?…..Beavs only 7, Zag Gals 12!
    No need to feed ESPN, Varsity net has Ron Callan……….and our gal Lindsay at halftime, she doesn’t sound as if her mouth is full of pastries today. lol

    • I didn’t realize was only 6-7 so far. They are similar to the beavers in terms of ball security. Marotte is having a nice game so far and so is Rees. Schuler still has no outside game but she seems to get to the basket but often doesn’t finish…

      • Schuler made me.eat my words as she actually got two 3’s and a few outside shots.. she did miss two critical FTs at the end but rebounded her own miss on her second ft and then iced the game hitting two FTs. She poured in 16 pts and I think that was a career high for her. My sincerest apologies to Ms. Schuler.

  63. 0
    2

    Bad loss by the Gonzaga women and men.

    Looks like the WCC will be a one bid league. I do think the men have a shot but there’s no wiggle room.

    For the women’s team, what a comeback. That’ll be the highlight of this lost season. Hope Rueck stays.

    • You have to look at overall NET. Gonzaga is still 6th in NET. A close loss to a top 15 NET team won’t move the needle all that much. Gonzaga is practically a lock and Saint Mary’s is likely to get in. Oregon State and San Francisco are top 60 teams in NET. If they can avoid bad losses and peel a couple wins off the top teams, they will get in.

      • I think they’re trolling.

        We’re already going to see hoops match-ups with some top tier teams, just because of the hoops product the Pac will have.

        It’ll take a couple years to become a meat grinder like the Big East… maybe.

        These are the kind of conferences that win Championships.

  64. Wow, Beavs down by 12 with about 3 minutes left and outscore zags 22-6 in final 3 minutes and OT to win 71-67. Schuler hits 2 fts to ice it. Great comeback win.

  65. Nice win by Iowa State. First 11 win season in school history. Matt Campbell is a great young coach. Said Ames is not for everyone and they have to recruit the right type of kids who believe in their system and want to be there. Bray would do well duplicating what ISU has done.

    • Spot on. Campbell hopefully stays put and doesn’t become just another mercenary coach. I really like his approach and hope Bray studies it. If we can have a program landing somewhere between the styles of Iowa St and Boise St that would be good.

  66. Cam Ward plays in the first half only to break the NCAA passing TD’s record. Sits 2nd half and Miami loses.

    Well……..totally different take I guess but,

    When the players see the greed by the powers that be? Conferences, TV money, etc???

    Kind of hard to blame them for getting theirs….

    Now it’s an arms race to see who can get more money. Who wins???

    Just wish their could be a happy medium.

    CFB sucks now. Who could’ve seen this coming???

  67. 1
    1

    “CFB sucks now. Who could’ve seen this coming???”

    Umm, we brought it up on this site 10-12 years ago….maybe not these specific mercenary examples, but the sport becoming unwatchable and surprising competition.

    I thought Dillon Gabriel was going to break the TD passing record? So I’m guessing that was Ward’s decision?!? Weird. Coach: “Get out there and finish them!” Ward: “No, I’m good.” If winning doesn’t matter, individual records can’t be far behind….

    How did Martinez do? Decent game?

  68. “The 6-foot-5, 257-pound Taylor led Oregon State with 7½ tackles for loss and 2½ sacks last season. He also had 46 tackles, third behind safety Skyler Thomas and linebacker Isaiah Chisom for the Beavers.”

    Didn’t realize he had that many TFLs. Not bad, maybe he’ll be better next season, particularly if Collin’s and Johnson stay healthy and new additions are actually additions…

  69. With the portal closing within hours, does that mean players “in” the portal have to find a landing spot before it closes? Or is it just a time when they can declare their intent to transfer?

    And is there a website with all of the Beavs who have left and their landing spots, and all those who have landed in Corvallis?

    • Closing means players won’t be able to enter the portal, although there are exceptions. Grad transfers arent bound by that rule. Players who are on a team that loses theor head coach get a new clock. Players still playing in bowl games get a new clock. And I’m sure even after those exceptions, somebody will challenge the legality of the portal window system and even that rule will go away.

  70. My guess as to why the RB coach hiring is taking so long.
    University of Buffalo plays in the Bahamas Bowl on Jan 4th.
    My guess (no inside intel) is that after that game, Ray Pickering will announce he’s leaving Buffalo and taking the OSU job.

    Some of his recent twitter follows have been Coach Bray, Coach Devan, Anthony Hankerson, Maalik Murphy as well as Murphy’s mom.

  71. 8
    1

    There are a lot of former Pac12 qbs starting in the NFL right now. But the PAC12 was always dismissed nationally.

    Too bad the powers that be destroyed a once great conference.

  72. 10

    I am particularly pissed at the UofW Athletic Director and the Head Football Coach. both of whom decided the school should leave for the Big 10 and effectively destroy the Pac 12. And now both of those decision makers have left the school so what were their long term interests in the school or conference? Answer: NONE. As someone once wisely said “Don’t let temporary people make permanent decisions.”

    • Andre Jordan has signed with UCLA. A bit of research: UCLA has signed 17 tranfers already and 7 of them are DBs?!?! Why would UCLA need 7 additiional dbs and why does Jordan go there if that is the case? I hope the bg of money was worth it because it is another example of guys being bought for depth not playing time.
      McCoy at Tennessee ends up an All American after transferring from OSU. Did any of the other transfers have great seasons? Martinez maybe, Bolden has a chance at the National Championship as a back-up wr, I suppose. The rest are just frustrating to see what NIL, no PAC12 and JS did to a great roster that was being put together.

  73. 1
    1

    Jacob De Jesus UNLV guy returner and solid receiver a guy beavs need to
    Add for a dynamic weapon in kick return game and as a really fast receiver that beavs need to add bray better be offering him
    And getting a visit set up

    • 2
      1

      Testicle-less Smith did the same thing to OSU. Coaches across the country should unite and aise this as a significant issue that is causing chaos in college athletics. Of course, the University of SchNike, and Georgia and the other schools with deep pockets could give a crap that the NIL and the portal are ruining the sport bc as long as they’re on top,

      I hope the entire scheme collapsed and implodes!

      • Most of those coaches are talking out both sides of their mouths. Im sure they’re doing the same thing or at least having someone to do it for them.

        • I figure that there are a small percentage of honest coaches with actual integrity still. It is this handful of guys who will be out of the game shortly because they refuse to go along with the flow of corruption all around them. It is a bit of a Quixotic endeavor to shout at the current environment and expect anything to change. The money is so big and the inertia of media and cheaters is too overwhelming right now. The whole thing needs to collapse under its own weight of corruption sooner rather than later. The certainty of the collapse means that more involved are just out to get their cut before the goose is cooked.

        • A lot don’t need to, because I’m sure the bigger money schools don’t rely on targeting only one player per position of need. So more kids end up in the portal than need to be there. Then there’s a bunch who just want to be somewhere else

          I don’t think we tampered with Murphy. But someone may have.

          Then they found someone else or balked at what we offered, once he announced he was in the portal.

          If 20 schools are scattershot, the rest only need to play the game once players are in the portal. It takes too many resources for a lot of schools.

      • Sooner or later, the courts will step in and redefine the SA as employees and when that happens, and it almost assuredly will, that is going to have a major impact on the NIL and the portal. It is just a matter of time before a lawsuit is filed on behalf of the universities. CBAs and contracts will rebalance this mess…..

    • The NCAA doesn’t even know how to punish a team for cheating, so why would anybody be scared to get caught?
      The portal has been around for 2+ years and I haven’t heard of a single team/coach receiving any disciplinary action around tampering.

      • We are currently in an unregulated arms race between schools who are determined to run excessively high roster salaries at no risk of reprisal. The crazy thing is they all know it can’t last forever and a new paradigm must be inevitable. The athletes, agents and coaches all know this is a limited time-frame and they are all-in to get their slice of the money before it all gets over-regulated as the pendulum will swing back dramatically the other way. SOme coaches and schools have to know that they have a narrow window for success by buying talent like they never could before. It becomes a vicious cycle in a tight timeline that will only pay off for a handful of schools. Perhaps it benefits smaller schools by diluting talent through transfers, but in the end it will only kill the sport that much quicker. Maybe it is for the best that this era is so absurd all at the same time. If it was only an increase in scholarships and no walk-ons,
        if it was only NiL,
        If it was only NCAA litigation facing all D1 schools with $20 mill/each for athletics
        If it was only an open free agency transfer portal without restrictions multiple times a year,
        If it was only an early signing period and a late signing period,
        If it was only massive realignment and destruction of entire conferences that had 100+ years of history,
        If it was only the lack of real oversight from the NCAA,
        If it was only the rise of 2 conferences that are determined to dictate the future of college sports for the benefit of their football programs,
        If it was only major media conglomerates attempting to buy up the product market share and influence all conferences and bowl match-ups,
        If it was only multiple former ADs acting like they are the mouth-peice for all future decisions as if they are a league commissioner,
        If it was only a lot of talking heads trying to influence public opinion by introducing ideas that ultimately turn college football into a mini-NFL,
        If it was only one or 2 of these things happening, maybe we wouldn’t be in the predicament we see. But since it is all of the above concurrently, the end must be near for amateur sports and college football is not going to be what we want it to be ever again.

        • If it was only a massive majority of NCAA schools stranding up as a unified opposition to all of it, then agreeing all scholarship athletes are employees with a CBA. Then let El Superligo deal with wanting to be a part of it.

  74. Do new portal transfers have immediate eligibility if their team is still playing? I would have assumed no but there’s a headline on O-live talking about a new UO transfer from Purdue having practiced today during their Rose Bowl prep. I would doubt it but don’t understand why the reporter would even mention it otherwise.

    • I’ve seen other stories where they are calling it a form of OTAs without “coaches” involvement, if you believe that.
      I’d expect the Ducks to push it as far as they can until someone stops them. How long until we see kids transfer after a bowl game and suddenly play in their new teams bowl game a week later? Of course the ducks may give it a shot since that Purdue safety is an all American.

    • 4
      5

      The men beating a bad UP team is part of a banner night?

      Wow. Talk about low expectations.

      However, nice job by the ladies though.

      I don’t get how anyone can be all up on Stinkle’s teams nut sack. They’ve played 2 good teams and lost both. Played one pretty good team and lost. They’ve beaten teams all worse than they are and some of those wins just weren’t very impressive.

      Seems kinda average to me. In the WCC this won’t be a tourney team.

      Ho hum. Wake me when baseball starts I guess.

      • 1
        1

        I mean I guess in the current state of the college sports landscape average might be tbe best we can do. So there is that.

        • 1
          4

          We’re gonna beg to differ on pretty good until they beat someone of substance. Until then? Average or slightly above

          I will also add they do appear to be better than the last few of Stinkle’s merry band of misfits. Time will tell

      • Yes I have low expectations as WT has disappointed many a time in the past. And you’re right, this isn’t a tournament team but they’re fun to watch, play hard on D, and look to be having fun. The NIT is very possible. WT has stopped with the irregular substitution patterns and we actually have some offense. Not up on WT’s sack but you’ll have to forgive me for being excited when a beaver team does well.

        • 4
          1

          They aren’t a tournament team at this moment, but they are very much on the bubble. The thing is they are taking care of business against the lower tier teams. They don’t have any bad losses. North Texas on the road is their worst loss and they are a top 75 team which means it’s a tier 1 loss. So all their losses are Tier 1. And 2 of the 3 were by one possession. No bad losses makes a difference. If they continue to beat the lower tier teams and take a game off Gonzaga as well as beat a couple top tier WCC teams on the road. They have a shot. They don’t have to be a tourney team now, they have to be a tourney team in March.

          • The WCC is a 2 bid league.

            Only chance OSU has is winning the WCC tournament.

            I don’t see them beating Gonzaga and St Marys to do it

      • The point is more that last one… that we beat all the teams worse than us.

        First, there are teams worse than us. That’s an upgrade.

        Second, we beat them all.

        There may be hope.

        I still figure if he has a couple years of success, someone will come poach him. Then we can move on.

        I was relegated to just waiting him out. But if he puts a decent team on the floor in the meantime, I won’t complain.

  75. Rueck and Tinkke doing pretty well with rosters cobbled together. I hope this calls into specific relief Rueck’s coaching abilities, and helps in recruiting and re-stabilization (whatever that means anymore) of WBBz.

  76. 1
    1

    Knight allegedly even working on individual shoes to lure recruits:

    https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/phil-knight-spares-no-nil-deal-in-thirst-for-oregon-national-title-hes-gonna-help-me-make-my-shoe/

    It seems odd that Nike profits from uniform and shoe production for NCAA sports and then can essentially use those profits and products to lure recruits to UO?

    UO’s collectives funding level is unknown and often assumed to be behind Ohio State’s payroll, but I doubt it…

  77. Folks here in Buckeyeland would probably differ on who has the higher payroll. There was so much hand-wringing about lack of NIL funds last year it was comical. I suspect all the bluster about the value of their roster was partially to placate the fans who are getting impatient with Day’s inability to beat Michigan.

    Contrast that with Nike’s well known blank check from Uncle Phil.

    • I will add that tOSU seems to be delivering on some of the actual purpose of NIL. You see Buckeye players on all kinds of ads and endorsements here. The grocery store has a whole display of Ohio products that have players on the packaging (Will Howard potato chips anyone?)

  78. Montana State coach, Brent Vigen, signs new 4-year contract. It has lots of line items but essentially it’s under a million. “We love living in
    Bozeman.” His son, Grant, 6’6, 215′, is a qb commit. Beavs “showed interest.” Current Bobcat qb, 4-year, Tommy Mellot, is a 4.0 engineering major, not a next-level player. I dunno know how their NIL program works.

  79. This may not age well but I will say it anyway…. This is the Alabama that SEC honkers said should have been in the playoffs? I’m sure they have a ton of holdouts but who doesn’t anymore at a bowl game….

  80. Michigan should have been in instead of Alabama? Nice to see that debacle before the rest of the CFP games to shut up all of the SEC honks. Good grief. Next up is a Boise St win.
    ND beats Georgia by 2 touchdowns.
    ASU beats Texas by a fg.
    Oregon gets boat-raced by Ohio St.

  81. Looking at the season win totals and “bowl” game results it’s funny to see what happens when at least several more teams can buy talent and players don’t have to stick around ….all of a sudden Alabama et al aren’t so invincible, standard blue bloods are mediocre or underwhelming….coaching transitions are responsible too, but now that everyone can tamper with and buy talent, it’s “leveled” the playing field a bit.

    The solution (according to some)? Have Nick Saban fix it all….yeah right.

  82. So we were told that Alabama or South Carolina or Ole Miss should have been in instead of SMU. Well 2 have lost so far. SEC is a fraud league for the propaganda they push every year.

    • Hard to have cohesion when teams are flipping rosters every year. The top programs reach even more to try and strike gold. Silver lining for these coaches than can limit the departures.

  83. 1
    2

    Looks like the Sugar Bowl will be delayed for 24 hours because of the terror attack last night in NO. Welcome to 2025.

  84. 8
    2

    I hate to bring this up, but OSU is in the playoffs this year if Smith doesn’t decimate our roster and leave last year. I’m wondering if he actually understood what the playoff was.

  85. 1
    1

    I think ASU just got robbed by the refs on a no call for targeting at midfield with 1:00 left and tie game.
    Texas just missed a chip shot fg to win but I think ASU had their best shot taken from them.
    By the way, ASU is dominating in all stats against this Texas team. ASU has struggled in short yardage red zone and that is why they aren’t ahead by 2 scores …
    Pretty good showing by the Fighting Dillinghams.

      • 1
        1

        ASU had Texas at 4th & 13 from the 28 and gave up a wide open post route by the safety. That was ball game but they should know Sark wasn’t going to play safe on that play. I would have hedged to Ewers going end zone if it was the last ply of the season. Oh well. No Cinderellas left. I’ll hope for ND to spoil the SEC/Big10 party at this point.

      • Wild to see pac 12 doormat play ‘sec powerhouse/blueblood’ so close and the change in culture in such short time frame.

        Also wild to see assu ‘fans’ all with shiny new gear fill that stadium when their own stadium has been a literal ghost town, even this year

  86. 1
    1

    I said that PSU exposed the Schmucks secondary and tOSU appears to be doing the same. Welcome to Big boy football schmuck fans!

  87. How long will this game go before paid for mercenaries shut it down and go back to their nil bag with smiles on their faces anyway, while poor uncle Phil strokes out?

  88. 3
    2

    Well based on all of the talk recently, Oregon doesn’t belong in these playoffs either. If you get blown out, that means you took someone else’s spot who was more deserving right?
    Go Buckeyes!!! Hilarious listening to Jerry Allen say I’m just speechless after that last TD. A lot of rationalizing going on in duckville.

  89. If the buckeyes can hold them scoreless, headline can be “duck lay an egg ”

    Or even if they don’t hold them scoreless as bad as it is….

  90. This was fully expected. At least, I made some money in Vegas even giving up the points. Just need to hit the over but tOSU needs to keep their starters. It was so easy to see that Lhad that team peak way too early. And they didn’t play anybody all year away from home. PSU doesn’t count as they are a fraud team who have beaten two non P5 schools so far.

  91. 5
    3

    Still no studentbeaver and you’d think being such an avid beaver fan, he’s be all over this board especially given he commented on the ASU-Texas game. Lol

  92. 9
    1

    No Natty!!! Not now! Not ever!!! You gave it the old bag of money try, Uncle Phil, but I think several repeated letters run together sum it up best….hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

  93. 4
    1

    I know Ohio St is up 20, but I don’t think I’ve seen a replay where the Quack O-Line wasn’t holding, yet there was no call.

          • I should relax on the schadenfreude. It’s my fault for having the volume on during the broadcasts that these narratives stick in my head. It’s not the athletes’ fault they are talented, play a game they love trying to make a living and the announcers tell a story. But it does suck that that’s what comes to mind when you hear these guys names.

  94. 3
    1

    Ducks forgot that if it wasn’t for a bush league call by their head coach at the end of their game in Eugene, they probably lose that game.

    Then he had the audacity to brag about it.

    It’s called Karma

  95. Olive: “Heisman finalists … freaks … elite athletes.’ The future of Oregon football is ‘special’

    Tez Johnson predicted next year’s WB will be a heisman finalist…

    I’m curious if their schedule is as favorable next year?

      • That same Iowa team that was rumored to be trying to still sniff around for a qb because they aren’t confident in their own qb room? Nike money must be buying the easy conference games for the U of 0 again…but they will get exposed with a loss when it matters most…. No Natty…..

  96. Day on one of his players, Jack Sawyer:

    “DAY: I can’t say enough about Jack as a leader, as a person. He really stands for what it means to be a Buckeye, and to see him playing at a high level, he’s the heart and soul of the front.

    And Cody will tell you just what he brings every day. He brings a hard hat and a lunch pail and goes to work, and it’s showing late in the season. He’s playing a lot of great football. He’s a big reason we won today.”

    “hard hat and a lunch pail ?!?” He’s a Beaver?!?

  97. 3
    7

    An Ambert Alert has been issued for Studentbeaver last seen wearing a UofO hoodie that says”we lost another natty” on the front of the sweatshirt. It is expected that he is probably driving around in the Eugene area in his yellow and green Pinto with Oregon flags and duck emblems of webbed feet on the car doors. If spotted, do not approach this vehicle as he’s in a fragile state of mind and will proclaim he’s a beaver fan. According to those familiar with his obvious duck allegiance, he is easily agitated so it is best to keep your distance… tOSU 41 Oregon Sucks 21!

  98. 5
    1

    Dillon, Dillon he’s our million dollar man, if he can’t just Do It, nobody can. Next million dollar QB that can’t just do it is TBD next season!

    • Rumor is next year’s rent a qb is Ewers from Texas. He has been asked to move on so Arch Manning can take over and doesn’t hit the portal

  99. 3
    5

    I was hoping the Ducks would win.

    I was hoping the Ducks would make the final.

    THEN LOSE TO MAKE IT AS PAINFUL AS POSSIBLE! Hahahahaha.

    The truth is, more people probably saw this beatdown than would/will be watching the final. Not the first dream to die hard on the sun-splashed streets of SoCal. Dang, my FB feed is quiet. Haven’t heard a peep from Duck fans since this morning.

  100. Just watched the highlights, some reactions:

    OSU was aggressive in their offense play calling. Reminded me of Kelly at UO where he liked to confuse then demoralize teams. I love that approach. Have opponents overthink, question themselves then take their heart of out it. Done. Although UO continued to play hard through the second half.

    I know it may seem lame to take pleasure in someone else’s loss, but the way Knight/Division Street Collective are trying to buy a championship is annoying. I enjoyed seeing them lose so badly.

    I realize the Beavs don’t have Ohio State’s OLine and WRs, but I still hope Gunderson (who worked under Chip Kelly) was watching tonight, and is willing to be aggressive next year @ UO. There’s nothing to lose. UO is loaded with talent will be 3 TD+ favorite. But Malik Murphy’s arm and quick release is going to provide different opportunities than any 2024 OSU QB did. Don’t go into turtle mode like the 2024 game at Reser – on defense OR offense. Just fucking play out.

    If Jensen Huang was willing to spend like Phil Knight/Division Street Collective, who would you want OSU to hire as Head Coach for football and men’s basketball? Rueck is safe. Just gets more money and a better roster. Money is the difference maker, and Huang could quickly put OSU in the top 15. I know it won’t happen, but if you think he did spend the money…I think a “General Manager” position would be needed, and someone in Administration besides Barnes. Invest in talent evaluation, strength and conditioning, sports psychologist…

    • Any form of General Manager for OSU would need to be linked in with high tech AI analytics and scouting, plus a great football reputation/IQ.
      The first name that comes to mind is Chris Petersen.
      Surely there are a lot of recruiting coordinators who have the deep Rolodex of contacts across the country but no one outside of the club knows who they are.
      There might be some lower level NFL personnel guys who would be a great fit. Maybe someone from the Seahawks front office but at the assistant level who knows talent evaluation and financial puzzles for NIL. It should start with Oline/Dline or none of it will matter.

      • Agree on the lines…And if money is no object, bring back Coach M….

        I think if you gave a GM you try to get ahead of the curve of players-as-employees, sign kids to 3 year deals, emphasize education attainment , and try your best to maintain roster stability.

  101. 4
    6

    Hilarious that people in here continue to push this odd narrative that I’m a Duck fan despite extensive evidence to the contrary, and that I’ve been a regular contributor on this board rooting for the Beavs for over 2 years. It’s funny, whenever I ask people to provide examples of me rooting for the Ducks or being a troll, no one can point to anything substantive.

    You’re right ESPNsucks, I wasn’t in here during the Ducks game. I tend to like to spend my free time doing things of value rather than watching a 4 score blowout of a team I’m not a fan of like some obsessed jealous high school girl stalking her ex boyfriend after getting dumped for the first time.

    • 8
      2

      I actually find it quite entertaining watching the Ducks get thrashed. Seeing an artificially constructed team via an open checkbook, routinely fail to get to the top, is similar to a spoiled child crashing their parent’s prized Lamborghini. No empathy from me.

      • 7
        3

        As any true beaver fan would find that very entertaining. At a minimum, making negative comments about a program that knifed the beavers in the back is very justified . But not studentbeaver, he would much prefer to toss crap at the beavers when they lose as opposed to the ducks when they get humiliated and he goes completely silent. That’s the typical MO of a Schmuck fan.

    • I’m going to guess that this is in response to some people who are probably responding to yet another one of your, “Oregon State really needs to be more like the Ducks in every possible way,” posts… following some Oregon event.

      I haven’t scrolled up yet, but that shit’s pretty predicatable.

  102. 1
    3

    It would have been better financially for us for Nike to win it all, right? Don’t we still get a share of bowl earnings from the traitors?

        • There are multiple types of CFP payouts.

          1. CFP pays a pre-determined amount to every FBS team, regardless of conference affiliation. Some conferences are allotted a larger piece of the pie than others. Pac12 currently gets much less than “Power 4” conferences.

          2. The CFP owes the Pac12 a payout for use of the Rose Bowl in their Playoff bracket.(this is what Jack is alluding to) That’s because the Pac had 2 years remaining on it’s deal with the Rose Bowl. So this year and next year, the Pac12 gets a pretty sizable payout just the fact that the Rose Bowl venue was used in the playoffs. That deal goes away after next year’s Rose Bowl though.

          3. If a conference team gets into the Playoffs, the conference gets a separate bowl payout for participating. This amount the Pac12 has decided to share among conference teams by giving 50% to the team that makes the playoffs, and the rest gets split evenly among the remaining teams in the conference. We haven’t seen that scenario yet, obviously. But let’s say Boise State gets into the playoffs again in 2026. They would get a 50% share while the rest of the Pac teams get the remainder.

  103. 5
    1

    I came here to complain about Oregon’s draw and how our time off affected our destiny of winning the natty to a bunch of fans that are lesser than me because of their team’s football record. However, with another year gone by and no natty for Oregon and being the fairweather fan I am, I realized I should just become an Ohio State fan. It’s great! They are actually surprisingly more obnoxious than Duck fans. Which fits me well. Also they already have won a natty! So I can just start claiming that for my own. It will be perfect as they are another team that I can base my whole identity of being completely insufferable over sports success that wasn’t earned, but purchased by donors. So I guess that means it’s time to head over to the Michigan boards and troll them under the pseudonym “studentwolverine”. Hahaha they will never know I am 45 years old!

    • That’s exactly why I wanted Oregon to get a bye. They got manhandled by Penn State in the second half then had to sit on that for several weeks. Meanwhile Ohio State was able figure out their pass protection against Tennessee at home.

      • If ND wins, all the bye teams will have lost.

        There may be something about keeping the team engaged with that one home game in the first round.

        • I agree. Of course there is more chance of injury and less time to heal those already injured, but if you can get through that week without additional injuries, then I think you’re better off to keep the momentum going.

        • It’s playoffs. Don’t higher performing NFL teams get first round byes?

          There’s trade offs either way, but everyone knows that going in. UO had time to rest up, scout other teams, and game plan. And still got blown out. Buckeye coaching staff kicked ass on UO, players executed good play calls.

          I think there’s still an influence of poll and committee rankings creating expectations of who “should” win.

  104. Bill Oram piece in OLive RE UO:

    “The nation’s No. 1 team was an absolute no-show, getting smoked, trounced, thrashed and trashed 41-21 in the long-awaited rematch with Ohio State.

    So at the moment, that perfect season the Ducks had, their rise to No. 1 and the Big Ten championship, well, that all feels as hollow as the inflatable Duck that started this whole thing way back in July.
    ….

    All of that talk, the great marketing and the cinematic recaps and the viral motivational messaging, ends up looking silly when you fall on your face in the end.

    “When you play great teams at the end of the season,” Dan Lanning said, “somebody’s not going to come out on top.”

    There is not coming out on top, and then — there is losing in such lopsided fashion that it’s a wonder the Rose Bowl didn’t just tip over onto its side. Heisman Trophy finalist Dillon Gabriel was sacked an astounding eight times. The Ducks had negative-23 rushing yards.

    It was a pretty view ruined by an ugly game.

    Was it just a bad day for the Ducks, who ran into Ohio State sensation Jeremiah Smith on his best day?

    Or proof that Oregon was just smoke and mirrors all along? That they benefited from a favorable schedule and played all of their toughest games either at home or on neutral fields?”

    “I think that’s an excuse,” Lanning said, when asked about the long layoff between the Big Ten title game and the CFP quarterfinal.

    “I thought our guys did practice well,” he added. “I’d tell you if that wasn’t the case. I thought they had a great focus. I just don’t think our plan was good enough.”

    Lanning tried to take those arrows. He is the head coach, the man in charge. But it has to be considered whether it is time for him to part ways with defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi.

    Lanning and Lupoi go back a long time. Lanning was a grad assistant at Alabama when Lupoi was a defensive analyst, and later the defensive coordinator. There’s history and there’s trust.

    But it turns out that having a top 15 defense all year didn’t cut it when it mattered most.

    Lupoi is a terrific recruiter and he’s helped bring in a stable of defensive talent. But the Ducks gave up 500 yards to the Buckeyes on Wednesday, less than a month after allowing 523 yards, and 297 rushing yards, against Penn State in the Big Ten championship.

    Going even further back, Lupoi’s defense collapsed against Washington in 2022 and broke down in coverage when they needed a stop against the Huskies in Seattle a year later. On Wednesday, it made Ohio State quarterback Will Howard look like Roger Staubach.

    It is simply inconceivable, and unacceptable that a team led by a championship-winning defensive coach in Lanning continues to break down at the most vital times.

    Wednesday was the kind of game that gets people fired.

    What the Ducks are doing, in a broad sense, is working. They have recruited at a level among the best in the country. Their NIL operation is seen as among the nation’s most sophisticated. I don’t imagine Phil Knight plans to close his checkbook anytime soon.

    Next year there will be as much talent as there was this season, if not more. But how can anyone get terribly excited about regular-season success until Lanning’s team does something in the playoff?

    Results matter. Real results matter. All of that money is flowing in with the goal of winning a national championship. Otherwise, why do it?”

    https://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/2025/01/bill-oram-oregons-regular-season-dominance-rings-hollow-after-rose-bowl-no-show.html

    It occurred to me the other day the Knight/Ducks relationship might be like Jones/Cowboys. When an owner has so much input and control, and spends so much money, the stakes for employees get higher and margins for error smaller. It’s a healthy relationship financially – but in a management sense it can become unhealthy very quickly.

    Both Knight and Jones are highly visible and invested, and neither has been able to buy a championship since they became so controlling. I guess Jones has one championship with his HC Switzer, but none since(?).

    • 14
      1

      Olive finally admits that Nike owns the Oregon football program and has been allowed to run it like his own pro team. We have been asking for decades that they be out on probation for cheating and paying players etc but the local press has only dawned over them and nodded approval for Knight putting Oregon on the national scene. It is a pro team marked by cheating and failure at the end of it all. Yesterday was such a glorious day to watch the evil empire of the west get destroyed in prime time for all to see.
      Oram asked the right question-“… was it all just smoke and mirrors all along?”
      Of course it was. It has been for 25 years and we all know it because they are an empty program with no heart or soul built on 1 donor’s dreams and ruled by the same.
      Rather than be dismayed by this outcome, perhaps Oram and the local press should consider the path that got them there and whether it is an empty, shallow approach to be given all of the shiny things and think you earned it all the way along.

      They destroyed the PAC12, acted like OSU is beneath them, and mocked the Beavs as little brother for 25 years.
      We can’t dislike the Ducks enough and it is a small form of ironic justice to see them get destroyed, humbled and exposed so thoroughly.

      • 1
        1

        Where’s the investigatory journalism on the collectives, their amounts and activities, including the timing of activities, of UO, UW, USC, UCLA, who brought a great conference to an end?

        Now that Phil Knight is offering to help design shoes for incoming freshmen, the absurdity of it needs to be brought to light.

        I now think of Phil Knight as “The Cobbler”…but hey, nothing weird about an 86 year old man with a foot fetish working with an 18 year old boy, is there?!?

  105. 3
    22

    Sure, it’s a satisfying result to see Oregon lose, but I wouldn’t exactly call a blowout entertaining to watch. Regardless, acting like some of you have just reeks of cope.

    No matter the result yesterday, Oregon still won a B10 title and were 13-0 in the Rose Bowl while our boys couldn’t even put together a winning record against Mountain West competition. All I’m saying is it’s cringeworthy how often people here just follow Hole looking for failures like jealous exes. They aren’t thinking about us at all, so we shouldn’t either.

    • 5
      1

      There it is.

      It doesn’t matter that the media shoves them in our face all the time… or that many of us grew up and spent our entire adult lives watching the Rose Bowl,
      because it used to mean something. The only reason we watch is because of envy and schadenfreude for the lovers.

      We need to be more like them… saying things like the only reason they revel in us being relegated (by their actions) is because of envy and schadenfreude.

    • 11
      3

      Finally studentduck has spoken and put us all in our collective miserable place. The same guy who presented nikeU as our measuring stick and a school to strive to be like all year long has now cleared up once for all that we are the problem. His wise counsel is that we need to grow up and not hope for the ducks to lose because they don’t think about us at all. If we were better, we wouldn’t think about the ducks as cowards, snakes, betrayers, arrogant mercenaries. We need to see the ducks as a great program that we can strive to become eventually, only if we weren’t so negative and blind to our own faults, which studentduck has been dutifully helping us all to be more aware of over the course of the year. He is really our conscience and the oracle of wisdom that we didn’t know we needed.
      Happy New Year all real angrybeavs, as for studentduck and his ilk, pox on your team and continued floggings at the hands of the Big10 going forward.

      • 5
        5

        My god, you all are hilarious. What do you disagree about what I stated? Do you not see how it’s kind of pathetic that we didn’t even make the postseason this year with a very easy schedule and we’re all focused on our rival who, despite getting blown out yesterday, still won a power 4 title and made a NY6 game, something we haven’t done in 25 years?

        I want nothing more than Oregon State to be successful. I’m tired of our only positive thing to talk about being the failures of other teams that, despite said failure, still had a much better season than us. You see it all the time in here. Someone is always providing an update on Duck losses in various sports. It’s sad. I want us to be the team other people love to hate because we’re successful, not us constantly having to use the failures of other teams to hype ourselves up.

        • Give it up Sparky as your true allegiance has been clearly demonstrated you are a duck honk. It’s so painfully obvious no matter how hard you try to deny it. No beaver fan would talk crap about the beavers after the ducks got massacred bc there’s no relevance to the beavers. You doth protest too much….41-21 quack quack quack Sparky.

        • 2
          2

          The game and fun are over, and only serve as a reminder that money doesn’t buy everything.

          But look at you go. You make me want to google, “Can I get a hernia from typing?”

          • read/heard someplace that Rose Bowl/Oregon personnel insisted the game start on time no matter anything. By the time the Arizona State/Texas game ended and people tuned into the RB game the quacks were down 2 touchdowns.

    • If you really are a Beaver fan, then get off your high horse, dude. Every sports fan revels in the misfortune of their rival team. There are fans in the South who have custom toilets made with their rival’s logo printed in the bowl so they can shit on them every day.
      But if you’re not a true Beaver fan, then fuck right off.

      • “Every sports fan revels in the misfortune of their rival team. There are fans in the South who have custom toilets made with their rival’s logo printed in the bowl so they can shit on them every day.”

        This is not difficult since their logo literally looks like a toilet seat.

        Let’s make a logo that looks like a crapper seat so everyone can shit on us! Yay!

        They do it to themselves. From the school to the fanbase.

    • 3
      1

      Go start your own blog and call it angry Gen Z platypus. It’s our right as longtime Beaver fans to say whatever the hell we want. Some of us on here were fans or alumni while you were still in your dad’s nutsack. Been reading this blog for 10 plus years and I will say you are the worst so far and there have been some doozies in the past.

      • Just as you’re allowed to say whatever you want, so am I. By all means, continue to obsess over Oregon like a jealous ex constantly

  106. 10
    1

    If the fucking Quacks had a tiddly-winks program I would root for them to lose. I even hated them before Phil Knight’s wallet came along.

  107. 4
    1

    Groundhog Day for Phil Knight:

    “Phil? Hey, Phil? Phil! Phil Knight? Phil Knight, I thought that was you!
    Hey, hey! Now, don’t you tell me you don’t remember me because I sure as heckfire remember you.
    You’re the guy that has poured over a billion dollars into Autzen Stadium, Matthew Knight Arena, Hayward Field (with the Phildo), PK Park, the Jaqua Center to mention a few. Then, millions of dollars into NIL to buy a professional team.
    Tell me, buddy any progress on buying that natty?
    Bing!”

  108. Oregon State getting some mentions, actually quite a few of them, about the Duke transfer quarterback in the Gator
    Bowl against Ole Miss.

  109. MBB getting blasted on the road against Loyola Marymount. Down 15 with 15 to play. It’s a horrendous defense so far. Tinkle needs to figure out this road thing.

  110. MBB season is over unless they win the WCC tournament.

    Great start by our WBB team in conference. Normality has been restored.

      • 6-3 over the last 9 games so this team might be starting to figure things out. Rueck’s teams usually get better as the season progresses so we will see as they play WSU on the road Saturday. This team is not even close to last year’s talent but he’s got them biting into his defensive style of play and that will keep them in most games…

        Kelsey Rees has been stepping up in a senior leadership role and Kennedie Shuler is starting to show her potential. Heide is providing some quality minutes too. AJ is doing some nice things but I still want to see more scoring and shooting consistency.

        LMU had two exceptional shooters from deep range and was a tough out.

        Good win tonight and another character building win!

  111. 6
    2

    I tried to tell yall about the Stinkles. Average team at best.

    That UP team they struggled to beat on Monday? Gonzaga blew the fuck out by 31 tonight.

    Repeat after me. NOT A TOURNAMENT TEAM.

    This is a one and done NIT team at BEST and most likely CBI material.

    • Down 23 now. It’s a little shocking that they look like every other crappy Tinkle team tonight. How quickly they wilted and reverted on the road.

      • Watched 5 minutes in the 2nd half. From comments in ab, I thought the passing -around -in -the-perimeter was done but there it was.

    • I’ve warned you as well. The pattern is well established with Tinkle. Once they lose a few in conference, he will panic and over pack by sitting his best players for no apparent reason and the rest will naturally start tuning him out.
      Prepare for the blessed meltdown so Barnes has no reason to extend his contract.
      I’ll admit they are a fun team to watch but I just can’t expect Tinkle to overcome his own tendencies and deficiencies as a coach. I’ve seen it for too many years and it isn’t changing this year. Now that Rataj has struggled for a few games, the wheels are about to come off the Tinkle train.

  112. 15
    1

    And there it is……

    Bill Oral with the “it’s not fair” hit piece. It’s the first year of the 12 team cfp and they’re already crying that it’s flawed and needs fixed.

    You fucking whores asked for this shit when you fucked the Pac over half a bag of money. You made your bed. Lie in it

    https://www.oregonlive.com/ducks/2025/01/bill-oram-the-college-football-playoffs-flawed-system-failed-oregon-and-needs-to-be-fixed.html

    • 5
      1

      And if any if those 4 teams had played a week earlier and had a key injury, they’d be complaining that they earned a bye and shoukdnt have been playing.
      Fact of the matter is, we actually have a little parity in college football. Nobody expected an ASU or Boise State to advance. And Georgia was playing a backup QB.
      The only team that didnt live up to expectations was oregon. But really, we should all expect them to wilt when it matters, so I guess thos outcome should really not surprise anybody.

  113. Ducks just can’t help themselves. They give up 109 points and get blown the fuck out at home by 32

    Enjoy that B1G

  114. 7
    0

    Illinois 109-77 at MKA go figure another overrated duck team gets boat raced. StudentDuck must be so upset that he actually might become a real beaver fan. Lol

  115. Whether Oregon lost to Ohio State now, next week, or in two weeks, does it really make a difference? Don’t understand the outrage. No trophies for second place.

  116. Broght side of men’s hoops this year is that we beat some of those early season teams by a fair margin that in years past we would’ve either lost or taken down to the wire in OT. So that’s promising. However, we still have to play games on the road and that’s unfortunately one of life’s greatest mysteries…why WT can’t win a road game. This team looked like a lot of the prior WT squads…mostly individual efforts, out rebounded, etc. This team has a big man problem to day the least. Fallah is great when he’s the bigger player but once we face teams that have any type of big underneath, Fallah is a non-factor. And it’s not just his scoring that disappears, he doesn’t grab boards, there’s no assists, etc. He’s probably a better forward than needing to be the center and unfortunately we don’t have anyone that can fill that gap. We shouldn’t be losing to LMU by 20+ points. That’s insane

  117. 2
    1

    First casualty of ducks blowout loss to tOSU is a prized Fr QB that recently committed to Oregon and now has entered the portal. I’m sure there will be more!

    • does it matter? when was the last time they actually gave meaningful minutes to a QB who signed there as a freshman? You have to go back to Herbert.
      FBS teams have all moved to the rent a QB option instead, so there’s not much point in wasting resources on signing freshmen.

      • The point being is their blowout loss might have had a role in the kid’s decision to opt out. I think we all know the ducks will open up the checkbook to find their next starting QB although they still have Dante Moore in the program.

        • Right, but if they lose a 5* freshman QB, does that really impact them at all?
          Like you said, they’ll likely hire another 1 year replacement for Gabriel. Quinn Ewers from Texas was rumored to be considering an NIL deal from Oregon vs heading to the draft this offseason, so he could be the main target.
          Moore is likely the high paid backup again, regardless of what happens. He’s just not experienced enough to be THE guy on that team.

          Sagapolutele was able to attend practice prior to the playoff games and got to see the writing on the wall close up. He has to know he has almost no shot at playing next season, or the season after. So he’d be smart to go somewhere that will play him, put in 1 or 2 good seasons, and then cash out on NIL by playing for another team (possibly Oregon even)

    • 4
      1

      All of their 5* guys are going to threaten to leave too if they don’t get a bump in the NIL package. Oregon is in a nice no-win situation. They think they’ve created a true family atmosphere and loyalty around Lanning, but it is again all smoke and mirrors built on Nike $$$. Tosh Lupoi will be tossed aside if they think they can afford to lose his recruiting prowess. It is likely they can find another DC with better ability.

      Let’s enjoy watching them squirm for at least a few days before they recover form that beatdown.

      • Totally agree on the NIL stuff. Kids know they can get a lot of money from Oregon so go there for a year or so and then leave.

        If they really have what they thought they had in lanning, it shouldn’t matter who their DC is. We all know who was really running that Georgia defense when lanning was the “co-defensive” coordinator.

          • 1
            1

            I think Smart is too busy whining at the officials while standing on the hashmarks all game to worry about defense. He used to be a great and focused coach. Now he is just a whiny SEC spoiled brat and looks less like a leader but a lot more like a toddler during their games.

  118. According to another beaver board, the beavers are hosting a TE today from the ACC. No name was provided orr other information st this time

  119. by the way, that would be 2 separate “4*” TE transfers if we do land Williams.
    Maalik Murphy is going to have some nice big targets to help haul in his overthrows next season.

        • According to the article regarding Iowa trying to poach MM, 247sports indicated that MM in fact signed and that’s why Iowa was t successful in their attempt to poach him from OSU… FWIW

    • Listed at 6’6″, 262 lbs. not much production.

      2024: Played in all but two games … had one tackle and a pass break-up in the win over Weber State … one tackle vs. EMU and one vs. Washington State … also made one stop at Iowa … had one tackle in the win over USC … one stop at Penn State.

      Spent the 2023 season at Miami (Fla.) before transferring to UW in the summer of 2024 … played in eight games, starting one, for the Hurricanes in 2023 … 13 tackles for the year … started the bowl game vs. Rutgers

      … spent his senior year of high school at IMG Academy in Florida, where he helped the team to a 9-1 overall record … prior to moving to IMG, attended Lincoln High in Tacoma, Wash. … 44 tackles and nine sacks as a junior at Lincoln in 2021 … also had 18 receptions for 269 yards and five TDs.

  120. weird timing, but our TE coach, Boyer, has taken the QB coaching job at Michigan State today.

    strange since we have a TE on campus visiting and also just signed another one in Bowers a couple weeks ago

  121. Hadn’t followed him for a little while but was hopeful Steve Lutz would be available after Stinkle is finally let go, but Okie State hired him.

  122. 1
    1

    Curious about recruiting rankings and if transfers via the portal are included in the rankings. Prior to Maalik Murphy, USC LB and the new TE’s, OSU was ranked about 64 nationally. With the adds of the players I just mentioned and if they count towards rankings, I would expect the beavers would be somewhere in the low to mid 50’s not that it makes any difference but would show that OSU is trending in the right direction. Thoughts?

    • They downgrade guys according to where they commit. Bowers was BYU’s #6 TE, for example.

      Pretty cool that we’re bringing that level of talent, but we also need to be able to coach them up.

  123. 2025 Football schedule

    v. CAL
    v. Fresno State
    @ Texas Tech
    @ UO
    v. U Houston
    @ Appalachian State
    BYE
    v. Lafayette
    v. Wake Forest
    v. WSU ( the Rubber Match I)
    v. Sam Houston
    @ Tulsa
    BYE
    @ WSU (the Rubber Match II)

    The “Rubber Match Rivalry” has some NIL opportunities…

    6 or 7 of those schools will have new HCs.

    What will that month long home stand with those opponents do to attendance?

        • Plus Murphy adds a new twist on expectations. He apparently had a penchant for winning close games at Duke.

          I think in the same way DJ was a difference maker in wins over UCLA and CAL, Murphy could be a difference maker in the CAL, Fresno State, Texas Tech, U Houston, and at least one WSU game.

        • I like the area. Haven’t been there in a long time, but the roads through the hills are nice, with a lot of nice hikes and fishing. And I’m partial to bluegrass, so I love the music scene.

          I guess our fans get to find out how hammered Boone got from the storm. It’s one of those mountain college hamlets, where the school sits up the hill a bit.

    • 1
      2

      Texas Tech is loading up on 4* transfers and on the road will be tough.
      Early season matchups are tricky if there is a new qb or new staff.
      Cal, UO will both be working in new qbs which makes them a bit less daunting even if we are doing the same.

      8-4 would be a reasonable expectation for year 2, but I’d hope for 10-2 with that schedule. TT and Nike will tough to win.

  124. Had a couple people ask me if I know anything about Keith Heyward Johnson rumors. I dont, but apparently there’s some talk in the forums that he could be on the move?
    I guess stay tuned.

  125. WSU up 23-10 end of 1st quarter. WSU four 3’s so far and their bigs are very talented compared to Rees and Heide.. I think OSU had their typical 6-7 turnovers so far.

    • Can’t watch the game but yeah the Beavs are missing the physicality of Beers in the low post for certain, tough piece to replace. Heide and Rees are complimentary pieces, at best, and Heide actually less than complimentary tbh.

  126. Final 76-52 Wsu as OSU looked lethargic today probably due to the OT games recently played. OSU shot 28% and several of those were good shots but couldn’t get them to fall. Meanwhile, Wsu hits 40% and 9 3’s compared to 2-18 3’s for OSU so that’s a pretty good indication of tired legs although Wsu played tough defense too.

  127. At the MBB game right now,

    1. Anyone visiting today?

    2. Beavs 3 point defense garbage.

    3 Fallah does really struggle against more athletic bigs. The team would be decent with a skilled big man. A Drew Eubanks or Kylor Kelley type.

    • Beavs were up 15 and then San Diego cut it to three early in the second half. Fallah has sure regressed to the mean. He continues to miss point-blank shots in the fine tradition of recent OSU big men.

  128. 2
    2

    Our Fighting Tinkles are back in the win column. Good to see a fairly dominant road win over a 3-13 team at least.

    I’m still somewhat skeptical that Tinkle can hold off the inevitable implosion or late season swoon but hope springs eternal in the new year.
    Go Beavs!

  129. 5
    1

    R Williams says Murphy coming to OSU sealed the deal. The gift that keeps on giving!

    We need to bring in a few more defensive players now.

  130. 12
    1

    Apparently, OSU and WSU split the $50M in Rose Bowl revenue for this year and next year. If that’s true, that’s pretty significant to the budget. So we got to see the Schmucks get taken to the wood shed and realized $25M in the process. That’s certainly a win-win for the beavs!

    • According to Beavers Edge posted today that Julian still TBD if he returns next year, but I thought I’d read he has already decided not to return? Does anyone know about his status?

          • He ran out of eligibility and didnt have a choice. But then eligibility rules changed so now he does have a choice. There were 2 JUCO seasons that no longer count, so he could potentially get 2 more years added, as long as they grant him a medical hardship

  131. So, that Hawaii qb who first committed I think to OSU, then flipped to CAL, then to UO, is now going back to CAL.

    Maybe more categories are needed: “flip flopped?”

    CAL RB Ott is apparently returning in 2025, so the CAL opener at Reser could be pretty challenging.

    • i read that their projected starting QB, a transfer from North Texas with several years of experience, is now in the portal after the frosh QB flipped back to Cal. so it appears Cal will be breaking in a QB with zero NCAA experience when we face them. Hopefully that’s a good thing?

  132. Welcome to the NFL Ryan Grubb: you’re fired.

    One season in the NFL…I wouldn’t say no to him as a Beavers OC candidate…

  133. T’Andre Waverly, 4* TE class of ’25, will make his announcement this Saturday and OSU, ND and UW are the schools in play but according to the source FWIW, he will be wearing orange and black.

    • If OSU lands a 3rd 4* TE of the offseason, with no TE coach on staff, wtf are we doing right? Does it all come down to having Maalik Murphy as QB?
      If so, we need to strike while the iron is hot and find some additional WRs to bolster that position while we can.
      Part of it could be proximity to home and a West coast schedule since both Riley Williams(Portland area) and Waverly(Seattle area) are fairly local to OSU.

      • I could easily see the Beavs running a two TE formation using a power running game like Stanford did about 10 years ago. That would really set up the passing game bc MM isn’t that mobile and if the Beavs can dominate with the run game and control the clock, they could be tough.

        As far as receivers go, Vaslin, Clemons and Walker would be pretty decent if Clemons shows improvement. I could also see JJ in the slot to utilize his speed as a play maker.

        Of course having some quality TEs that can catch and run was another great feature of those Stanford teams…

        • Zach Ertz finished this season with something like seven or eight TDs in the last six games.

          Zach Ertz.

          Receiving TEs are hot in the NFL.

  134. I made a post months ago that Waverly would commit and you scoffed at me.. he had a edge crystal ball made for him before signing day.

  135. Notes on coaching salary budget:

    “Oregon State will provide football coach Trent Bray with a $4.85 million assistant coaches salary pool for the 2025 season.

    The eight returning coaches – Jamie Christian (special teams), AJ Cooper (inside linebackers), Anthony Perkins (defensive backs), Kyle Devan (offensive line), Kefense Hynson (receivers), Ilaisa Tuiaka (defensive line), Ryan Gunderson (offensive coordinator), Keith Heyward (defensive coordinator) – are slated to make a combined $3.615 million next season. All are working on the second year of a two-year contract, for the same salary as 2024.

    That leaves about $1.2 million to hire two new assistant coaches, as well as additional compensation should any of the current coaches negotiate a new contract.”

    https://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/2025/01/how-high-will-oregon-state-go-with-assistant-football-coaches-salaries-and-scholarship-limits.html

    Baseball pre season ranking:
    “The Beavers on Monday debuted at No. 10 in the Perfect Game Top 25, landing a spot among the nation’s elite in the first of five major college baseball preseason polls to be released.

    Oregon State is the highest ranked team on the West Coast, the only team outside the SEC and ACC to land in the top 10 and the only independent among the top 25. Two former Pac-12 foes — the Oregon Ducks (14) and Arizona Wildcats (12) — also earned spots in the preseason poll.”

    https://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/2025/01/where-is-oregon-state-baseball-ranked-in-preseason-poll.html

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